Where does one get Buffalo Grass sod in Colorado?
Billgr
18 years ago
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catherine_nm
18 years agocanyon_home
18 years agoRelated Discussions
Buffalo Grass Experiment: 1 Year Later
Comments (23)We planted 609 buffalo grass sod on our large new yard in Dallas area 5 years ago. Tried being organic - used corn gluten meal for weed control. Have had tons of weeds every year; spent hours/days hand pulling. Last year went to chemical pre-emergent and Roundup, but are still having loads of weeds. There are undeveloped lots near us. Grass was very lush for about 3 years, in both sun and moderate shade, but has thin spots now esp. in shade. Bermuda has invaded some sections. We seldom water; never fertilize. We only mowed once/yr for 3 years; now are mowing at about 6 week intervals. Don't have any seed heads. Do get runners. I still love the low maintenance but am very disheartened about the weed problem....See MoreReplacing Grass, in Colorado (south Denver)
Comments (6)Bermuda would be a poor choice because it would have a very short growing season. Tall fescue doesn't really use much less water than KBG (at least not in comparison with the grasses I'll be discussing in a bit). If it can't grow deep roots, it can sometimes actually need more water than KBG. You've got several options. If your main goal is to plant grass that will stay green with almost no water, the two grasses that would probably use the least are buffalo grass and blue grama. These are often grown together in a lawn setting. They're both native and both will grow in Colorado. The problem is that they'd have a short growing season (especially in Zone 4). If you don't mind a lawn that will be tan from late September or Early October into mid to late May, these will use the least amount of water. Both can be bought as seeds, plugs or sod. Sod is the most expensive, but easiest and fastest to establish. Seed is the least expensive, but hardest and slowest to establish. Buffalo grass grown from seed also has pollen that causes problems for many people with allergies. If you'd rather have a lawn that is green at about the same times as the KBG lawn, you'll want a cool season grass. One grass that is getting a lot of use in lawns recently is crested wheatgrass. This is an import and can live with no additional water. In fact, watering it much would kill it. It has very fine leaves, but they're a bit too yellow for my taste. It deals with drought by going in and out of dormancy at the drop of a hat. Most varieties are bunch grasses, but a few newer varieties such as Roadcreast and Ephraim are weakly rhizomatous. Sheep fescue is native to the intermountan west, but the variety that is most often used in lawns (Covar) is based on a stand found in Turkey. It has extensive very fine roots, that don't go very deep into the soil, but spread laterally. It has very fine leaves and deals with drought with the extensive root system and also by reducing evapotransporation. It's low growing and can be left unmowed if you don't mind a slightly wild look. It's a bunch grass, but mowing will encourage tillering and it will spread somewhat if it is mowed. It will stay green with very little additional water (on a par with the buffalo grass and blue grama). Streambank and thickspike wheatgrass are native grasses. Some references list streambank as a form of thickspike wheatgrass and not a separate species. They have similar looks and growth types, but streambank wheatgrass is more suited to heavy/clay soil and thickspike wheatgrass does better with sandy soil. It's lighter green than KBG and has very fine leaves. It spreads rhizomatously so it will fill in bare spots. It grows slowly and should be mowed high (around 3.5-4 inches). It may only need to be mowed 2-4 times a year. It will live with no irrigation, but will go dormant during the summer and come out of dormancy once it rains. If you want to keep it green, it would need only slightly more water than the buffalo grass, blue grama or sheep fescue (maybe 1/2 inch every other week). It is pretty easy to get started from seed. Western wheatgrass is somewhat similar to streambank wheatgrass, but it has much deeper roots, so it goes dormant later. It is also slower to come out of dormancy because most of the roots are deeper (so the rains need to penetrate deeper before it will bounce back). It has wider leaves that are somewhat blue in color. It's harder to establish than streambank wheatgrass and seems to do better when dormant seeded. It has similar water needs to streambank wheatgrass, but would probably benefit from less frequent but deeper water. It grows a little more slowly than streambank wheatgrass. I've seen it described as aggressively rhizomatous. Very little fertilizer is required for any of these (maybe 1/2 to 1 lb N per 1000 sq ft per year) and the crested wheatgrass and sheep fescue will probably die if they are fertilized the way a traditional lawn is fertilized. Western wheatgrass will do best if fertilized a couple of times a year, but if it's planted in a mixture (with streambank wheatgrass, for example) it will do fine with the lower level. If you decide to go this route, do as I say, not as I did. Kill the existing lawn first. It's a little scary, but if you try overseeding into the existing lawn, it will take too long and will ultimately cost more. I overseeded my lawn with streambank and western wheatgrass in the front and sheep fescue in the back. I added some blue grama to the heckstrip because it gets so hot in the summer. It has taken several years to get to the point where the majority of the lawn has the native grasses and I've still got a lot of KBG and tall fescue (it will probably die out this year as I plan to water rarely). There's a sod farm in Salt Lake city that sells sod and seed and one of their products may meet your needs. I haven't bought from them because I prefer making my own mixes, but I may buy some of their sod if I end up with bare spaces at the end of the summer. I've bought seed from a number of suppliers (usually buying individual varieties and mixing myself). Round Butte Seed Mountain Valley Seed used to have good prices on streambank nad western wheatgrass, but I don't see them on the site anymore. Southwest Seed I used to have some other links, but I can't think of them at the moment. My dog loves to lie in the area that is mostly streambank wheatgrass....See MoreWeeds in Buffalo Grass
Comments (16)ksu_cowboy: When they told you that buffalo grass could be dense/green/weed free AND low water usage, they didn't mean both at the same time. Low water usage only means that the plant does not die in a drought. It will thin out and eventually go dormant under drought stress - but at least it doesn't die like some other grasses. Once it thins out the weed seeds have a chance to sprout during the next extended rain. Buffalo grass needs water to thrive. Chemical fertilizers may be too strong for it, so you might consider organic fertilizers or even compost. Anyone else reading this is now rereading that sentence because I am so anti-compost. However, every now and then I see something good happen with it. When I see side-by-side comparison of grass with and without something and one side blows my socks off, then I try to remember that. I came very close to getting the pictures this weekend but something happened and I did not get them. Oh well...the side-by-side pictures I saw of buffalo grass with and without compost told a pretty good story. I don't know why so I'm not offering any opinions on that (also contrary to my nature). Apply compost at 1 cubic yard per 1,000 square feet and see if that helps. This is a very thin layer. Spread it around with a shovel and finish with a push broom to sweep it off the grass plants and down onto the soil. You might consider bringing in a beefier buffalo like Tech Turf. It creates a very dense turf. Right now the pictures in the first reply above are broken, but once they return you can see pictures of Tech Turf in action. It is the only buffalo I have ever been favorably impressed with....See MoreUC Verde buffalo grass questions
Comments (16)Interesting. ....I am actually in the process of tearing out my tired (23 year old) Zoysia (Z52), section by section and putting in UC Verde Buffalograss. I tested / started it last July it in a section that Zoysia failed due to inadequate water... and it is far, FAR better than Zoysia in drought tolerance. I also found when tearing out the Zoysia that the roots are very shallow. I found that the UCVerde is not dense enough to block weeds, so I do need to spray for them. I also found that you must not overspray lawn weed killer as it appears to kill the UCV too. [I am double checking that effect and will post again if I find the kill was a fluke] Here is a pic from April - the UC Verde is in the foreground with Zoysia behind and to the right......See Morebpgreen
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15 years agoamester
15 years ago
Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
15 years agobpgreen
15 years agoDan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
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