Buffalo grass has advantages for Kansas lawns

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN CYNTHIA MARTENS
In a Kansas landscape that was once inundated with large herds of buffalo, it’s not surprising that the principal forage grass for the American bison was named buffalo grass.

Today, homeowners and commercial landscapers can choose to seed, plug or sod lawns with hybrids of buffalo grass that existed on the prairie 7 million years ago.

“Buffalo grass is probably the best grass for seeding in a sunny, dry-exposed sight that is able to withstand the sun, heat and the drought conditions we have here in Kansas,” said Scott Vogt, horticulturist and ground’s manager at Dyck Arboretum of the Plains in Hesston.

“Once it’s established, it thrives really well in our clay soil. It does really well, especially the newer varieties that have come out in the last five or six years. They seem to spread and fill in quickly and are really drought tolerant.”

In its history, the fine-leaf buffalo grass has survived severe weather conditions and evolved into a durable water-efficient, sod-forming grass.

Small shoots have hairs on both sides and edges of each blade. Typical buffalo grass has both male and female plants. The male plant has a flag-type pollen head above the stem, and the female produces the seed toward the base of the plant.

With proper weed control, buffalo grass spreads fast on runners but is not a pest.

“Buffalo grass is easy to maintain because it just has runners on top of the ground as compared to Bermuda, that has runners under the ground and on top of the ground,” Vogt said.

“So it’s really easy for those Bermuda runners to take over surrounding flower beds and your neighbors’ yards. Buffalo grass is a better alterntaive to Bermuda.”

Tampering with Mother Nature, horticulturists have been able to produce a better variety of buffalo grass to suit lawn-maintenance needs and the desired appearance of today’s yards.

Of the four varieties mentioned by Vogt-Cody, Bowie, Tatakna and Legacy-the first three can be seeded.

“Legacy is a female variety that doesn’t have the seed heads so it comes in plug trays,” Vogt said.

“The seeded varieties, like the Cody we carry, have male and female plants. Some people like the seed heads and think it’s attractive, and others don’t. The advantage of the seed heads is that it’s a quicker establishment initially, and it’s also less expensive. Plugs are a fairly large expenditure if you have a big lawn.”

The best time to seed a new lawn is late May and into June.

“The latest you can plant it is the first of August, because it isn’t able to get established before we start getting cooler weather and the soil temperatures start dropping,” Vogt said. “You can plant it in June and July if you’re able to water it on a consistent basis.”

Buffalo grass seeds should be planted at a rate of 2 to 3 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Fescue, the typical grass planted in the Marion County area, is sown at a rate of 7 to 10 pounds per 1,000 square feet.

In considering whether to establish a buffalo grass lawn, sunlight is an important consideration.

“It doesn’t grow in shade,” Vogt said. “It needs at least six hours of direct sunlight in order to grow well. If I had a yard that had full sun all day long, I’d plant buffalo grass.”

Repeated light tilling or herbicide application prior to planting are essential for successful seeding.

With a weed-free and firm seedbed of no more than 1/2 -inch deep depressions, seed can be broadcast by hand or with a drop spreader calibrated to deliver the right amount of seed.

“After you spread it, go in, rake it and then pack it down with something like a mower or walking over it,” Vogt said. “The wheel of the mower works really well to pack that down to get good seed-to-soil-contact.”

Following the seeding regime, it’s recommended to lightly water the sown area if there is no rain.

“I’d water it every other day for about 10 to 14 days until it all comes up,” Vogt said.

“Once it’s established, you can start backing that water regiment off to every three, four or five days and check it every day to see how it’s performing. If it looks like it’s dry or under a little bit of stress, just give it another shot of water.”

Buffalo grass does not require a large amount of fertilizer for establishment, but a starter fertilizer is recommended where the soil’s organic matter is low. A blend of phosphorous and potassium with the addition of a smaller amount of nitrogen is considered sufficient.

The recently engineered varieties of buffalo grass will compete with weeds and are considered a fairly effective weed barrier.

“The newer varieties will do a better job of that than some of the older varieties,” Vogt said. “But it isn’t going to be a completely weed-free lawn. There still will be some dandelions and weeds. You can do a little bit of broad-leaf control for some dandelions in the spring.”

The typical color of buffalo grass is spring green to blue green.

“It’s not the emerald green color,” Vogt said. “But, it’s a nice alternative if you’re willing and able to be satisfied with a lawn that isn’t in the so-called perfect category.”

Typically reaching a mature height of four to six inches, the narrow leaves curl downward to produce a shorter-looking turf. With its finer leaf, it is more resistant to clumping and thatching.

At the Garden Center in Hillsboro, Sharon Boese said she doesn’t carry buffalo grass seed.

“Buffalo grass isn’t a widely planted grass at all,” Boese said.

Although she has seeded buffalo grass lawns for area customers, Boese said she could probably count the number of lawns on one hand. If they want her to seed their lawns with buffalo grass, customers can order the seed directly from the grower.

“There are plusses and drawbacks for any type of grass,” Boese said. “There isn’t any miracle grass. But buffalo grass can be appropriate in some situations.”

Among the disadvantages of buffalo grass listed by Boese are the following:

n Cost-“Buffalo grass is very expensive,” Boese said. Fescue seed varies in cost but averages about $1 per pound locally. Buffalo grass ordered in 5-pound bulk bags from Stock Seed Farms in Nebraska averages about $10 per pound.

Factoring in that it takes about 2.5 pounds per 1,000 square feet for buffalo grass and about 8.5 pounds for fescue, the consumer is actually paying about $8.50 per 1,000 square feet to seed with fescue and $22.50 per 1,000 to seed with buffalo grass.

n Fertilization and weed treatment-“You cannot fertilize or treat for weeds in buffalo grass until it’s dormant,” Boese said.

“Buffalo grass is very sensitive to spray. People see dandelions, but you just can’t go spray them whenever you see them.”

n Shade intolerant-Because it doesn’t grow in shaded areas, an alternative grass or landscaping plans are needed in those spots in a yard.

n Color-“I think another disadvantage is that people like to have green grass in spring,” Boese said. “They do not like to wait until June or July to have it green up.”

Buffalo grass typically will have a brown, buff color during dormant periods, such as times of drought, during the winter and into early spring.

Vogt said the newer varieties have been manipulated to “germinate quicker, spread quicker, stay green longer and have a nice darker green color than what you would have gotten 15 to 20 years ago.”

Listing positive reasons for choosing to seed with buffalo grass, Vogt offered the following:

n Disease resistant-“It’s resistant to a broad spectrum of diseases that seem to hamper grass like fescue,” Vogt said. Common turf insects, such as grubs, webworms and billbugs do not appear to bother buffalo grass.

n Drought tolerant-During periods of extreme drought, buffalo grass will go dormant but will not die out as a result of lack of moisture.

“You can keep it from going dormant a lot of times by watering it one or two times during the summer as compared to a fescue lawn that maybe needs to be watered every two to four days,” Vogt said.

n Requires less mowing-Buffalo grass withstands any mowing height, but its short growth usually requires no more than one or two cuttings a season.

Vogt usually sets the mower height between 3 1/2 and 4 inches when cutting buffalo grass at Dyck Arboretum.

n Less fertilizer and water-“It doesn’t take as much fertilizer and water,” Vogt said.

“The average homeowners who are tired of watering their fescue lawns and unable to pay the $200 to $300 water bills during the summer see this as a nice alternative.”

In the past, it took longer to establish a good stand of buffalo grass. This was a frustration for homeowners who wanted instant lawns. But today’s newer varieties appear to come in faster.

“I planted the buffalo grass outside the Visitor’s Center out here in June and by August, it was completely covered-no gaps,” Vogt said. “It filled in really quickly.”

A proponent of buffalo grass, Vogt said such factors as seeding costs and the brownish color during dormancy are outweighed by the advantages.

“You kind of offset that with savings in fertilizers, savings in time mowing it, less watering-all those other factors,” he said. “You come out ahead with some of the other benefits it provides.”

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