Buffalo Grass - The No-Mow Freedom Lawn

Instead of fighting a weekend war with your landscape, liberate yourself with a low growing, no-mow buffalo grass lawn!

Purple Poppy Mallow

If you are already beginning to resent the hours you spend laboring over your lawn, consider a new tactic. Instead of fighting a weekend war with your landscape, plant a liberating, no-mow buffalo grass lawn.

Native to the Midwest, rugged buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloides) evolved on sunny prairies and requires at least six to eight hours of direct light per day to succeed in a turf setting. It is a low-growing "warm-season" grass, which means it will be green in the summer and tawny beige in winter and early spring.

Buffalo grass requires only ? inch of water per week compared to most turf grasses that need 1 to 1? inches per week. In fact, you won't need to water your buffalo grass except in times of severe drought. A buffalo grass turf takes little or no fertilizer. The newest turf type buffalo grasses used in urban lawns are cultivars of the original native and will benefit from a slow-release fertilizer at a rate of one pound per 1000 square feet once monthly, June through August. A pre-emergent herbicide like Surflan may be used when temperatures are below 85 degrees to control weeds like crabgrass and foxtail. A pre- or post-emergent such as Plateau will help control weeds in existing stands. And unlike fescues and bluegrass, buffalo grass is insect and disease-resistant. Best of all, most buffalo grasses reach a maximum height of four to six inches. You can forget mowing for a natural look—perhaps interplanted with short spring bulbs or colorful native wildflowers—or mow once a month for a more manicured look.

You can establish a buffalo grass lawn with seed or plugs, but either way requires any existing vegetation to be destroyed and thatch removed.

  1. Kill existing turf with an application of Roundup. If your turf is infested with weed seed or is Bermuda grass, two applications of Roundup are 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 be prone 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.
  4. Maintain soil moisture for two to three weeks until seedlings emerge or plugs are established. After the first month, water the area thoroughly once or twice per week until the new turf is established.
  5. Keep the area mowed to a height of one and one-half to three inches during establishment to encourage the buffalo grass to spread and to control weed growth.

Because buffalo grass doesn't green up until well into late spring, you may want to try some unconventional lawn additions. Short, early-blooming bulbs can add eye-catching spring color and ease the transition from late winter to spring.

  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. Consider adding short summer wildflowers for a no mow approach. Use species like Missouri evening primrose (Oenothera macrocarpa), Penstemon sp., Bottlebrush blazing star, (Liatris mucronata), Purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea) or Purple poppy mallow (Callirhoe involucrate).

Another alternative for your no-mow freedom lawn is a prairie parcel. Create a patch of mixed wildflowers and grasses and enjoy its seasonal interest from colorful blooms of spring and summer to the textures and colors of seed heads and foliage in fall and winter. If the prairie parcel is within the immediate vicinity of your home, you may want to leave a defining strip of mowed turf around it. Preparing a site for planting a prairie parcel is the same as for buffalo grass except planting should be done in late fall or early winter to allow the seed and site to experience natural cycles of freezing and thawing. Maintain the area by an annual mowing or, for best results, a controlled early spring burn if allowed in your area. Check with city ordinances.

For a list of quality nurseries and qualified professionals that can help you create a naturally liberating lawn, check the Grow Native! web site, www.grownative.org, or write to us at Grow Native!, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102.