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PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 10:57 pm 
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I am looking for a lawn grass for planting in south Dallas county; drought tolerate, full sun.


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PostPosted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 10:27 am 
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Location: Dallas,TEXAS
http://www.dirtdoctor.com/Buffalo-Grass_vq572.htm

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PostPosted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 3:28 pm 
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Couple comments on the DD reference page linked above:

See that retaining wall in the picture? There will be no buffalo grass growing within a foot of the east, west, and north sides of that wall. I mean there will be bare dirt, zero grass, nada, nothing. If there is any structure, tree, fence, mailbox, or anything that casts a shadow between buffalo grass and the horizon, buffalo will thin out and disappear.

Secondly, the article gives the impression that most buffalo grasses are created equal. The experienced growers will tell you that seeded varieties will revert to native habits too soon after planting. In a couple of years your lawn will look like it was planted along side I-35 and left alone. It will be weedy and thin. One variety I am aware of that looks much nicer is grown only from sod. It is called Tech Turf and is available from the Turffalo company and better garden shops. It is expensive to get started but spreads very fast, unlike most buffalo. The male flowers do not grow faster than the grass so that is the other great aspect of that variety. It can be mowed at 3/4 inch or up to 4 inches with great success. Here is a picture of Tech Turf trying to escape over a sidewalk...

Image

I like Tech Turf but there are alternatives. Buffalo goes dormant maybe a little sooner than hybrid bermuda. Any bermuda sod you get is 100x better than common bermuda. The problem with bermuda is it is a fertilizer hog. It is very hard (expensive) to put out enough organic fertilizer to keep a nice, dense hybrid bermuda turf. The other issue with bermuda is mowing frequency. It looks much better when mowed at 3/4 to 1.5 inches - twice a week.

The other alternative is St Augustine. The only thing that makes buffalo and bermuda "drought tolerant" is there ability to come back from a month with absolutely no water. They will look terrible, but they will live. St Aug on the other hand, will die after a month with no water. I am experimenting with tall St Augustine to see how it does in a prolonged drought. The grass in the experiment is about knee height now and has not been watered since October. Granted there is not much need and we have gotten some moisture, but I'm going to see how long I can let it go before it shows drought stress signs.

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PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 2:11 am 
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So far so good with my buffalo grass, these 2 google street view photos tell the story, not too bad after a horrendous summer in DFW, black clay soil watered twice if you look close you can see that the sprinkler was put in the middle of the grass ie. darker color, the "Birdallo" was from another part of the yard thats been there for at least 20 years and looks just as good as it does in the photo


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PostPosted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 10:43 pm 
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Does anyone have a recommended source in South Dallas County for Buffalo Grass (Tech Turf, etc)? Are we talking full sod or plugs? What planting schedule is recommended?


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