Looking for grass lawn alternatives
gatorfreak
11 years ago
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carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
11 years agogatorfreak
11 years agoRelated Discussions
Low water landscaping-- alternative to grass as a play area?
Comments (2)Ask the local water company about xeriscaping brochures, and look in the library for books on it. Check my home page ... I have a link to "How to Plan" landscaping. One way to minimize the water use is to get rid of as much lawn as possible - use shredded bark under play equipment, goive them a paved or gravelled area, a garden area of ther own to plant and play in, etc. And loook into the possibility of using Grama or Buffalo grass - they arre lower watrer use, less mowing....See MoreAlternative lawn roll call and update
Comments (22)I found this thread while looking for information on Blue Gramma. I planted about half an acre in Blue Gramma "Hachita" late last fall and did not get any germination from that planting, not even this spring when it started to warm up, so not being one to give up I went through the preparation ritual and replanted the area again with the same type seed the last week of April. It took about three weeks before I started seeing results. It was great watching the sprouts and then blades beginning to grow. However, the grass in taking so long to sprout gave the weeds a good head start. I did not dare enter the area for a while for fear of uprooting the grass so I just had to let the weeds go. Beginning the second week of June I was out pulling weeds by hand and continued to do so for several more weeks. I was amazed quite often how close to a clump of grass I could pull a weed and the grass roots were deep enough that few were removed. Because of the still poor germination of the BG I decided to let it go to seed without mowing and let it reseed/overseed itself. I think it is a very pretty grass especially as a full grown plant with seed head. My problem now is that I have decided that BG by itself may not be the best lawn choice as it seems to not withstand traffic well. Is it possible that overseeding with some other grass might be appropriate and if so what would be recommended? I see that several other posters seem to like the Wheatgrass, especially crested and streambank, would they work and what would the blend of Blue Gramma and wheatgrass look like?...See MoreAus Native Grass alternative to Purple Fountain Grass
Comments (2)You might see if there are any wholesalers who can supply smaller tubes of the Purple fountain for landscapers - even if you ask a landscaper to buy them in - if you can get cheaper pots and sacrifice some plunes by giving a good haircut, you could try dividing the clumps & could probably produce 4 times the number for planting out. In terms of native grasses, I don;t know your area, I know I find a lot of roadside grasses in my area very pleasant even though some may be weeds. Do be careful though when I say "weeds" some species can be very invasive - Qld now has a problem with the other fountain grass. I found this site which can supply small trial quantities of seed and has some good sections of notes on grasses and their uses (no commercial interest) Here is a link that might be useful: native grass seed supplier...See MoreBlue Gramma lawn as a drought alternative
Comments (1)My best friend is trying to get his mom to replace the tall fescue. Almost all the yards around her still have mostly lawns. She likes grass and says if she wanted cactus, she'd move to Arizona. We were just wondering how difficult it is to care for since she might like this more rustic looking lawn than the usual xeriscape plantings that people are putting in when the grass comes out....See Morezzackey
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11 years agoCarol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
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10 years ago
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