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Buffalograss
(Buchloe dactyloides)
A true native of our prairies, Buffalograss is a warm season, fine leafed perennial, sod forming grass that has quickly become a favorite lawn and landscape turf throughout most of the country.
Because Buffalograss is native to the Great Plains from Montana to Texas, it tolerates prolonged droughts and very high or low temperatures. This, together with its seed producing charac- teristics, enables Buffalograss to survive extreme environmental conditions.
Buffalograss requires less water, less fertilizer, less mowing and is more heat, cold and drought tolerant than any other turf grass. We think that Buffalograss will be even more popular as envi- ronmental pressures increase for people to use less fertilizer and pesticides. It also produces less thatch and clippings than other grasses, helping to reduce waste in our city landfills.
This popular turf grass is low growing, commonly only four to six inches high. It spreads by surface runners, or stolons, and seed. It forms a fine textured turf with a soft blue-green color. It does not possess underground stems, or rhizomes. Buf- falograss is destroyed quite readily by cultivation and for this reason, it can be easily removed from flower beds and gardens.
Buffalograss requires very little water to remain green during the hot summer months. It is best adapted to low rainfall areas (10 to 35 inches annually) or areas that receive thorough but infrequent irrigation.
Buffalograss is not adapted to heavily shaded ar- eas. Roadsides, school grounds, parks, open lawn areas, golf course roughs and cemetaries are ideal locations for Buffalograss. Many farmers also use it as a cover for implement yards and pastures.
When planting seed primed with KNO3, seeding rate and date of seeding are important
considerations. The burrs are about the size and texture of a grapenut cereal. Buffalograss, in its natural form , is covered with a hard coating to prevent the seed from germinating at the same time. This protects its survival from drought and nature when out on native rangeland. Primed Buffalograss has been processed to allow water to be absorbed so the seed will germinate uniformly, beginning as soon as ten days. Primed seeds have a much higher germination rate than unprimed seed. After a few weeks, it’s hard to distinguish between a seeded and sodded area.
Seeding usually averages five percent of the cost of sodding. Tests show that areas that are seeded usually have a more complete coverage quicker than areas that are plugged.
April and May are the best months to plant primed Buffalograss seeds since the temperatures are favorable and moisture is generally adequate. Seeds need a 60o soil temperature to begin germination. With irrigation, the planting date