Establishing A Buffalo Grass Lawn

Buffalo grass can be a water and labor saving alternataive to traditional bluegrass and fescue lawns. This article gives you the basic information you need to get a buffalo grass lawn started.

Buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloides) is a hardy, disease resistant Missouri native turf grass. This good-looking grass is cool gray-green in summer and rich golden flax in winter. Buffalo grass is a rugged short-grass prairie resident that's naturally drought tolerant and low growing. It grows four to six inches tall but the narrow leaves turn downward, making the overall height even shorter. When it comes to mowing, you can leave it long for a soft look or you can cut it to two to three inches for a tighter, neater looking turf. If you do choose to mow, be aware buffalo grass spreads fast laterally but slow vertically so it only needs mown every two to three weeks as opposed to the weekly obligatory mowing most turf grasses require.

Buffalo grass needs 6 to 8 hours of direct light per day to promote dense growth and is one of the most heat and drought tolerant turf grasses available. It does do best in sunny, dry sites and climates. For example, buffalo grass works a bit better in western Missouri, which has a climate similar to the dry Kansas prairies. Buffalo grass needs one-fourth inch of water per week to stay green compared to most other turf grasses, which require one to one-and-a-half inches of water per week. You shouldn't need to water a buffalo grass lawn except in times of extreme drought. Buffalo grass turf needs little or no fertilizer and, unlike fescue and bluegrass, it is insect and disease resistant so forget about pesticides.

Establishing a no mow lawn

You can establish a buffalo grass lawn with seed or plugs in spring after the soil reaches 60 degrees F and on through summer up until August 1. The key to a successful stand of buffalo grass is to start with ground that is completely weed free. This includes completely killing out other kinds of turf grass, too.

To prepare your site:

  1. Kill existing turf with an application of glyphosate, a non-selective herbicide. If your turf is infested with weed seed or is Bermuda grass, two applications of glyphosate is recommended and you should delay planting until any competition is controlled.
  2. Remove thatch. If you are using plugs, do not till the soil, but if you are seeding, till to a depth of three to four inches. The tilled area will require more water and will be vunerable to erosion.
  3. Plant in late spring when soil is warm (60 degrees F) through summer or until about August 1. Seed at a rate of two to three pounds of seed per 1000 feet. For more even distribution, divide seed quantity in half and apply second half perpendicular to the first application. Firm soil after seeding and before watering to insure soil contact and reduce washing. Plug at a spacing of 12-18 inches on center. Check with local sod dealers for sod or plugs.
  4. Maintain soil moisture for two to three weeks until seedlings emerge or plugs are established. Keep the soil moist for two or three weeks or until seedlings emerge or plugs are well rooted. Then slowly reduce watering, but keep the ground moist. After the fourth or fifth week, soak the area once or twice a week until the new turf is established.
  5. Keep the area mowed during establishment to a height of one and one-half to three inches to encourage the buffalo grass to spread and to control weed growth.

As a warm season grass, buffalo grass doesn't turn green until late spring. To add spring color to your turf area, intersperse colorful drifts of early blooming bulbs such as species tulips, Kaufmanniana and Greigii tulips, reticulated iris, crocus and daffodils. These bulbs show beautifully against the tawny carpet of dormant buffalo grass and provide interest until the grass greens.

  1. Select a variety of bulbs with short, unobtrusive foliage like species tulips, Iris reticulata, grape hyacinths, crocus and dwarf narcissus.
  2. Plant bulbs in random fashion for a naturalized look. Mix all varieties to insure random distribution.
  3. Mow the buffalo grass in late January to remove any of last year's dead thatch and aid emergence of the spring bulbs. Don't mow in late fall–it will increase odds of winter die back for the buffalo grass.
  4. Enjoy the beauty and resilience of spring bulbs and buffalo grass together. With each successive year, bulbs will multiply and clump nicely. Once your spring display is finished, usually late May, give the turf one mowing.
  5. You could also consider adding short summer wildflowers for a no mow approach. Use species like Missouri evening primrose (Oenothera macrocarpa), beard tongue (Penstemon sp.), bottlebrush blazing star, (Liatris mucronata), purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea) or purple poppy mallow (Callirhoe involucrata).