Page 15 - Native Seeds Catalog Flip Book

can be extended to July and August. Fall plant- ings of primed seed are successful, but plant early enough for the roots to establish before a freeze. The latest recommended date is approximately sixty days before your average freeze date.
Primed seed will germinate in ten to fourteen days if moisture is adequate. Without irrigation, the seed will remain dormant until moisture is favorable. Seed should be drilled 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 inch into a well prepared seed bed. If not drilled,
seed can be broadcast onto tilled or broken soil. Seed should be raked into the soil 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 inch deep and then rolled lightly to pack. This helps firm the soil and puts the seed in good contact with the soil. Rolling also helps eliminate any air pockets which might be present under the soil. The newly seeded lawn should be kept moist, not saturated. Frequent light watering is necessary for good germination. This regime should continue until the young plants are visible at which time the frequency of the watering should be reduced. After four to six weeks, the watering should be fairly infrequent.
A recommended seeding rate of 2 pounds per 1,000 square feet produces a good turf in as
little as six weeks depending on moisture and temperatures. Recommended rates for pasture seeding varies from 8 to 16 pure live seed pounds per acre.
Buffalograss does not need fertilization, but it will respond to light applications of nitrogen. Nitro- gen fertilization should not exceed two pounds per 1,000 square feet per year. With irrigation, Buffalograss will remain green through the spring and summer. One inch of water biweekly is adequate to maintain a green Buffalograss turf.
‘Texoka’ variety was released as a joint venture of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas research center twenty years ago, but is still widely used today. Texoka, with an average height of six to seven inches, was developed as a forage grass.
Bamert Seed Company has developed and released two of the newest seeded varieties of
improved turf-type Buffalograss; ‘Topgun’, ‘ Topgun 2’ and ‘Plains’.
‘Topgun’ buffalograss was available for the commercial market in the spring of 1993. It was developed for its color, density, height, early green-up and late dormancy. Topgun’s short growth characteristic of only four to five inches helps reduce mowing and its dense turf helps it competitiveness. Its darker green color makes
it more desirable to home owners, park depart- ments, golf course superintendents and building managers. This variety will green up about two weeks before most Bermuda grass varieties. It is the first variety of Buffalograss listed under the Plant Variety Protection Act.
‘TopGun 2’ is a unique high quality turf-type Buffalograss developed by Bamert Seed Com- pany and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. ‘TopGun 2’ has shown to have outstanding performance in turf plot test by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This new variety has taken and enhanced those genetics found in the original ‘TopGun’ making it the ideal turf-type Buffalograss.
‘TopGun 2’ was developed for its dark green appealing color, rapid and long spreading stolons, height, frost tolerance, and maturity. ‘TopGun 2’ has shown to maintain its full color as compared to those varieties that are completely dormant and brown. This new and better variety has prov- en to have excellent frost tolerance and keeping its color, making it the eye appealing, long-lasting, low maintenance turf-type Buffalograss.
‘Plains’ Buffalograss was released in 1992. Plains’ upright growth habit of five to seven inches ag- gressively shades weeds and all other competing grasses. Being slightly taller and having a deeper root system makes it more desirable for road sides and low maintenance areas where the taller grass will help erosion control.