I'm more of a cool season grass kind of guy, but I've read a lot about native grasses before putting in a cool season native lawn (buffalo grass and blue grama will grow here, but would be dormant most of the year) and I've read some about warm season grasses on forums.

Buffalo grass and blue grama will both work where you are. Once they get started, they should be able to stay alive with no additional water. Buffalo grass spreads and blue grama is more of a bunch grass (although it will spread a little if it's mowed). If you have allergies, you'll want to get plugs or sod for the buffalo grass. The sod/plug varieties don't produce seeds or pollen. Buffalo grass and blue grama are often planted together. Plugs cost much less than sod, but more than seed.

If you do plant them together, you'll probably want to make separate passes if you plant seeds. Buffalo grass seeds are about the size of small peas and grama seeds are like dust.

You can let them grow for a slightly wild look (probably only 4-6 inches tall, with seed heads going taller) or keep them mowed for a more traditional lawn look.

You can fertilize once a year or so with 1/2 to 1 lb of N per 1000 sq ft. They'll do okay with no fertilizer but will thrive with a little bit. Fertilizing with more than that doesn't help them and may hurt and will also allow other plants to invade more readily.

Bermuda will grow there also, but will need to be mowed much shorter and more often and will need to be fertilized with 1 lb N per 1000 sq ft per month to really thrive.

Since all of those are warm season grasses, you need to plant when it's fairly warm out (like daily highs in the 80s at least). It may be warm enough for you there already.

If you'll need to replace the entire lawn after construction, I wonder if planting something other than a lawn might make sense. I don't know what kind of cover crops will grow there, but I'm thinking maybe some kind of legume (alfalfa?) would help fix nitrogen in the soil and help add organic matter to the soil for when you eventually plant the grass.

I forgot to link to this discussion where I listed some suppliers of seed and plugs.

Thank you so much for the info about buffalo grass and blue grama. Right now, that sounds like a very real possibility for the final lawn. You mentioned an idea that is very appealing - using a cover crop! That may be the way to go right now! Farmers plant seeds and let nature do most of the work. Since I have only extremely limited means to water right now, this sounds extremely appealing.

This was exactly what I needed - a new way to think about the problem. I can plant a cover crop and buy time to figure the rest of it out. I definitely need to do more homework on the buffalo/blue grama combination. It sounds like a combination that would meet our criteria. I may return the Sahara seed to Sams!

Thanks!

I decided to do some homework about cover crops for my area and started with the Tractor Supply website - not sure why! Would you believe that they have something called, ProGraze Perennial Deer Food Plot Seed! I am going to grow the deer that hang out on the property their own little field of greens. The garden will definitely have to be fenced!

Tractor Supply also sells something called GroundWork Pasture Seed, Multipurpose Mix. Not much information is provided online, but I will do some more homework. Who would have ever thought that a city girl would be studying alfalfa and pasture crops!

Now off to do homework on where to buy cover crop seed. I see feed stores from time to time. I am guessing that they may have seed - or at least information!

Once again, thanks!

Try animal feed stores and buy white dutch clover and whatever else is in ProGraze seprately. Much cheaper.

If you want a nice decent lawn around your house, I highly recommend Floratam st augustine. Much more hardy than Raleigh that's commonly sold everywhere. You probably will never have to water it again once they are established. You will still have to mow it once a week though. With a lot of rainfall, I'm not sure how grama and buffalo would do. They are from dry places where bermuda and st augustine cant survive on their own. They are nice though. they don't seem to get very tall and probably mow once a month.

What I am thinking right now is that I will buy some pasture grass seed and put it out before a rain. This should give me something for erosion control until the house is built. I just can't afford sod for 2 acres, but I can afford to put some near the house. After construction, I think that I will put some Floratam on the east side of house in the area around the porch - the area that will be used for grilling, etc. I don't mind mowing part of the property weekly, but dread the thought of mowing 2 acres weekly. Because of cost, I will need to plant seed in the areas distal to the house.

I think I will contact the Extension Service and see what they think about buffalo grass and blue grama for this area. I should have thought about contacting them anyway. They might have some other ideas, too. I really hope that there are types of these that will work here. They sound perfect!

Thanks to all for your suggestions! I was mentally "stuck" and y'all have given me ideas that are helping me see light at the end of the tunnel. By using a cover crop from now through the end of construction, I have bought about a year of time to figure out the final solution.

Buffalo gras is not likely going to work because you get too much rain in that area.

It looks like buffalo grass will work in Houston. According the the lady in the feed store, it is currently being planted in esplanades. I am attaching a link from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in conjunction with the University of Texas at Austin - in case anyone else is wondering about buffalo grass for this area. They also recommend a buffalo grass/blue grama mixture, but I have yet to determine for sure that the blue grama will work here. More homework to do! It is good to at least know that the buffalo grass will work. Now to figure out a cultivar!

The Lady Bird center does have an agenda. They are promoting the use of native grasses, native wildflowers, etc. They advocate a lawn of native grasses over other types. I know that many on this forum will not agree with this philosophy, but it is a good option for some people.

The website has a big archive of Q&A about native lawns, wildflowers, combining wildflowers with native grasses, etc.

I am posting this information in case there are other people like me looking for alternative information.

Once again, thank you to everyone for helping me get on a path that will work for me! And to think that I almost planted Bermuda!

Cheers!

Here is a link that might be useful: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

According to this publication, blue grama is adapted to the whole state of Texas.

is a link to all the grasses they have publications for.

To stop the erosion you might want to look into Vetiver grass. I don't know much about it and had never heard of it until recently, maybe someone else will chime in on it.

Here's a bit on it from theherbcottage.com
Vetiver produces a massive root system that grows straight down rather than out from the plant. It creates a sort of curtain beneath the soil, trapping sediment and slowing down the movement of water. Because the grass grows down instead of outward, it does not become invasive. The plants never form seeds, in fact they rarely flower, and if they do, the seed is sterile, another advantage in keeping it under control. The above-ground plant looks much like pampas grass or lemon grass.

Do you plan on mowing, fertlizing, or any maintenance on this plot of land?

Bingo for blue grama! Using this and info from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower center, I am going to use part of the property to make a wildflower meadow using buffalo grass and blue grama mixed with native wildflower seeds. That should be pretty spectacular and nearly maintenance free once established! They also have info on using tall grasses. I think I'd like to make an area for some of them if I can figure out how to incorporate them into the landscape. This might be phase 3 or 4 or 5!

I will have to check into vetiver. Once again - another type of grass I have never heard of! This has certainly been an eye opening experience. I had no idea there were so many types of grass - although it makes sense once you stop and think about it!

Texas-weed - I want to do as little maintenance of grass as I can get away with. There will be a lot of it on 2 acres and I would much rather spend my time on the veggies and fruit trees. I have already been informed that I will get no help with anything green outdoors, so this middle-aged woman needs to plan carefully! I will probably buy a little tractor to help out, but I am intimidated at the thought of driving it. I'll have to get over that! But I do have a secret plan - invite men over when I need to drive it around! I suspect I will get a little help - at least the first year! On the plus side, my husband will do maintenance on the tractor. That sounds like fun to him - go figure! My current house does not have a blade of grass on it. I ran over my foot with a lawn mower when I was a kid and haven't gone near one since. I took the coward's way out and planted all shrubbery, ground covers, and gardens at the place where I have been living for the last 25 years. Time to grow up!

Once again, thank you to everyone. I am amazed at how much my thinking has evolved in just a week.

Cheers!