Showing posts with label Buffalo Grass Seed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Buffalo Grass Seed. Show all posts

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Tired of Mowing - Grow Buffalo Grass



Buffalo grass is a tough short grass that is native to the prairies of North America.  Unlike other grass seed, the buffalo grass only grows to six inches which means you will not need to mow as often.  


Buffalo grass is a warm-season perennial that is a good seed choice for areas that have drought conditions in the summer.  Unlike other grasses that require hydration and turn brown when the summer temperatures soar into the 100's, buffalo grass does not bolt.  It thrives in hot dry weather and stays a lovely blue-green color.   When you plant buffalo grass seed you will save money by not having to water the grass as much and you will save energy because you will not have to mow weekly.   

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Mature Buffalo Grass Grown from Seed - 


Husbands Love Buffalo Grass
My husband does not like to mow our side yard because it slopes down and has a rocky terrain. So a few years back we decided to put down buffalo grass seed in this area that faces the woods.

We cleared the area and then amended the poor soil with topsoil before broadcasting the grass seed in the sunny side of the yard.  You can run the seed over with an ATV and it will plant it at an inch deep.  Or you can spread topsoil over it.  

My husband loves that it is low maintenance seed as he does not have to mow the area where the buffalo grass grows.   The grass is a lovely blue-green shade throughout the warm season months. In the fall the grass does die off quickly after a frost, it turns a golden brown and it remains this color until mid-spring.  

Caring for Buffalo Grass



We watered the newly planted grass seed daily in the morning to help the roots grow deeply.  We continued to water it in the morning throughout the first summer season with an irrigation system. The water that we used to water the buffalo grass was half of what we used for our perennial grass seed blend lawn. Buffalo grass will stay green with less water and is a good grass seed for water restricted areas.

The grass seed grew in slowly and we saw a lot of weeds the first year but in the second year, the grass filled in nicely and the weeds were choked out.  



Buffalo grass is slow to turn green in the spring but my husband does not care because he says it is worth it as long as he does not have to mow the side yard. 

View this YouTube video to learn more about Buffalo Grass

Tips:


  1. Resists pests and disease
  2. A two-pound bag of seed covers 1,000 square feet
  3. Chokes out weeds within a year and forms a thick mat.
  4. Grass does not grow well in part shade or full shade, best to plant in full sun.
  5. Plant in well-drained soil
  6. This grass is for hot, dry climates. Not recommended for areas that get 25 inches of rain annually.
  7. Buffalo grass Grows well in heavy soil.  If you have soil like mine that has rocks in it then amend your soil with manure or compost before planting.