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Buffalo grass for existing yard
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Author:  user_48634 [ Mon Jul 14, 2003 12:20 am ]
Post subject: 
Dave, you sound exactly like me. I have to water every week, myself. Although with the recent rains I haven't but I expect to in a few days. Well, maybe not with the hurricane coming, but someday.
Author:  flowerlover [ Mon Jul 14, 2003 11:37 am ]
Post subject: 
CWilson -
You should come see our neighbors' yard in Waxa. if you want to see Buffalo Grass up close and personal. We enjoy the look of it. It is never scraggly looking, and I have never seen them water it. They are retired folks who travel in their RV a lot, and they didn't want to have to mess with mowing frequently.
Email me for the address, if you'd like.
Author:  user_48634 [ Tue Jul 15, 2003 7:52 am ]
Post subject: 
I'd like to see a nice stand of buffalo grass. I'm going to a meeting tonight. I'll ask there if anyone nearby has one I can visit.
Author:  user_48634 [ Mon Apr 12, 2004 11:39 am ]
Post subject: 
Due to the overwhelming popularity of this subject, I'm going to bump it up to Sticky status at the top of the list. Now even more people will find it.
Author:  BeerBasket [ Wed May 05, 2004 3:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Buffalo Grass
We planted our new lawn with 609 Buffalo in November 2002 with sod, it's more expensive intially then other grasses but over the long run much cheaper to maintain. Sodding is much more effective then seeding, though more expensive I had some initial weed problems but as I treat with Corn Gluten Meal they have gotten better. I never had to water during the summer of 2003 and only mowed twice. I will probably mow ever 4 weeks but it is not necessary. Each year the grass gets thicker. Main reason I went with Buffalo other then it's low maintenance, is the way it looks, especially if you have some property( we have 1.1 acres). I aslo have had positive comments on how it looks and when I tell the neihbors on how easy and cheap it is to maintain, they are jealous.
I live in Burleson, close to Ft. Worth, and would be glad to have anyone stop by and see.
Author:  maximumrob [ Sat May 22, 2004 4:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Buffalo grass for existing yard
YardDog wrote:
Can I overseed an existing lawn (1 & 1/2 acres of bermuda, clover, and assorted weeds) with buffalo grass? If so, how? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Rick


YardDog,

I'll let you know next year when my buffalograss comes in. I started with a bare lawn, with the exception of my large culvert being sodded with Bermuda to hold the soil in place. I, too, have a 1ac lot. Last year, I only threw down 50lbs of buffalo and had to till up most of it this year to do it right. However, where the buffalo came in relatively thick, I left it. I also threw seed into the areas that were sodded in Bermuda.

Next year should reveal whether or not buffalo will invade Bermuda. I'm only watering heavily this week and last with the new seed, then will only water enough to prevent giant cracks in the ground. That ought to kill my Bermuda and grow the buffalo!

Will let you know.

maximumrob
Author:  Liatris [ Thu May 27, 2004 2:04 pm ]
Post subject: 
If you simply rake up the area and sow some buffalo grass seed, you will add some buffalo grass to the mix. That may be desirable, since the buffalo grass will hold its own in a drought when many of the things growing beside it dry up and die. But the buffalo grass will not choke out the other stuff. If you add buffalo grass to what you have, it will still look like weedy bermuda.

If you want buffalo grass, better to remove the existing vegetation and do some tilling. This doesn't have to be a deep tilling, just enough to break up the soil and discourage whatever has already been growing there.

If you remove the existing vegetation and get buffalo grass established, some other grasses and forbs (otherwise known as weeds) are likely to creep in. I wouldn't let that stop me, personally. Handle your mowing and watering and other nurturing to favor the buffalo grass rather than the other stuff, and it will look okay.
Author:  MainMan911 [ Sun Aug 15, 2004 8:15 am ]
Post subject:  Overseeding Buffalo in Bermuda
It seems as though you got some long answers. I hope you've found your answer. But let me get in on the dialouge.

No. You can not overseed Buffalo in another grass lawn. You will have to remove all of the previous grass first.

Buffalo grass is the least invasive of all other grasses. I do consider it the most beautiful though. I have two acres. Because of the cost I am moving slowly in seeding my property. Because of the time involved in watering seedlings. I would move slowly anyway. My neighbor is seeding with Bermuda and they are seeding slowly also, because of the time involved in watering seedlings.

I do a lot of hand weeding because - 1. I enjoy it (even when I had St. Augustine on a zero lot line house before) 2. I have found hand weeding to be the VERY MOST effective way of having a weed free lawn, if you want to stay organic. It also takes just as long (or as short a time) as using chemicals - organic or synthetic-. Once the weeds are removed by hand (after about 2 years) then organic control is extremely effective. But only after hand weeding.

My Buffalo is in it's first full year and we enjoy it very much. It grows about 8 inches, needs no mowing, and look EXTREMLY BEAUTIFUL blowing in the wind. We did mow it 3 times this year; BUT THAT WAS JUST TO SEE HOW IT WOULD HANDLE MOWING. I hear it pretty much likes to be left alone. Which is why I am trying it out. And which seems to be true; the more I leave it alone the better it looks.

Is it costly? Only slightly more - considering ALL of the costs - from beginning to end.

I have found that Buffalo grass requires two things - 1. Patience and 2. A total and complete change in the way one thinks about lawn care.

If you attempt to care for it as you would other grasses, you are doomed for failure. Once I re-learned lawn care techniques I understood how to have success with Buffalo grass.

Good Luck - no matter what grass you decide to go with.
Author:  stuart [ Tue Aug 24, 2004 3:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Overseeding Buffalo in Bermuda
MainMan911 wrote:
I have found that Buffalo grass requires two things - 1. Patience and 2. A total and complete change in the way one thinks about lawn care.


Agreed! We sodded the front of our house with Buff about 8 years ago. I love it. My wife has mixed emotions about it. When it is green and blowing in the wind she loves it, but come the summer when it starts to brown she is less enamored with it. To keep the peace I tend to water it more than needed in the summer in hopes of maintaining a bit more green. The negative result is weeds. Ever since I overseeded the grass with wildflowers years ago we have been battling weeds in a portion of the lawn. Watering only encourages the weeds and then she's upset about the weeds and wants me to cut the grass, destroying the effect of the tall whispy grass blowing in the wind.

I would love to find a sod seller willing to sell less than a pallet of Buff so I could simply solarize the bad spots and start over with clean sod. Any one aware of a company willing to sell a half pallet of Buff sod?
Author:  crsublette [ Sat Sep 18, 2004 12:01 am ]
Post subject: 
Yeah, H Bar H Turf company in Amarillo sells some good looking Prarie Buffalo grass, but I think they will stop cutting it up here soon. I planted some almost two days ago from now and it looks great. It hasn't even gone into dormancy yet due to the transplant. I hope I transplanted good. Plan to plant much more. The prarie buffalo grass looks much better than the native buffalo grass that I have in my front yard.

I can relate with you on the watering issue with buffalo grass. Water the buffalo grass too much and you will get weeds and other grasses you do not want to see in your buffalo grass.

I don't understand the increased cost of maintenance toward buffalo grass over others. The grass is watered less, mowed less, and more cold/heat tolerant. For fertilization, corn-gluten meal works out great to prevent weeds and fertilize the grass in one hit. If you abuse the grass, you will have to pay. I probably misunderstood the posts.
Author:  northwesterner [ Wed Nov 02, 2005 11:28 am ]
Post subject: 
It's early November now, it has been a very dry summer. This week we've just had our first substantial rain in months.

I like the way it looks out front when the Bermuda and St. Augustine are dead. But then, I like the way the prairie looks around me on the undeveloped land and it isn't wall-to-wall plants. There are exposed areas and clumps of grasses and flowers and such. My lawn now consists of dead St. Augustine (crept in from the neighbor on my right) and dead Bermuda.

If I rake up the existing straw-like material left on the ground and scatter buffalo grass seed, will it do any growing now before the first freeze? Will the seed (assuming it doesn't wash away) come up in the spring? I don't want to water that front at all, once I get the xeriscape stuff established. I have a couple of beds for more tender plants that are near the faucet, and I'll be watering the house foundation. The rest I want to look like it belongs in North Texas and not the fairway of a golf course.

Northwesterner
Author:  nativedave [ Tue Oct 10, 2006 6:04 am ]
Post subject:  good idea, but be prepared...
Buffalograss is the best turf especially for N. Texas. However, if your neighbors have Bermuda or St. Augustine (and mostly likely they will) your lovely Buffalograss turf will soon be overtaken by their turf. You will have better luck if you live on a corner lot bordered by sidewalks, curbs or other hardscape structures. Or maybe you could convince your neighbors to convert to buffalograss, too! :lol:

As for getting the turf started, whether from seed or sod, just about any species of turfgrass requires frequent, consistent watering to become established. The first 30 days are crucial to the success of your new turf. And if you live in N. Texas -- or anywhere else suffering from historic drought -- it would be better to wait to make the "conversion." Nurse your existing turf along until we're out of this natural cycle.

On that note...predictions about drought vary but most experts believe this cycle will last through summer of 07. Conserve, conserve, conserve!
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