Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
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Tuesday - October 15, 2013
From: Cedar Park, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Non-Natives, User Comments, Grasses or Grass-like
Title: Comment on previous answer from Austin
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
Ms Bradford, You just answered my question about St. Augustine grass.. actually, you didn't answer it.. You said "sorry, wrong number". Very funny. I think you misunderstood... I would rather not have St. Augustine sod put down after the work is done, but I have no choice. My entire yard is St. Augustine (not my choice). So the small area where the work is being done (repair of a serious drainage issue), must be replaced with the same grass as the rest of my yard.. as required by my HOA. I don't have a choice. And, no, I can't afford to xeriscape my entire yard.. I don't have the money. I'm barely able to afford the repair work. I would really appreciate an answer to my question... at this time of year, how long will it take the St. Augustine roots to become established, so as not to be killed by a frost?ANSWER:
We are truly sorry, but if you are constrained by an HOA, there is not much we can do for you. We will, however, refer you to a website from Texas A&M which does have a lot of information on that grass. That will be much better information for you; since the grass is non-native we have no information on it.
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