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Buffalo grass: The new color of greenBy David Ostdiek Communications Specialist, Panhandle Research and Extension Center A yard-size patch of buffalograss at the UNL Panhandle Research and Extension Center isn't difficult to distinguish from the bluegrass next to it. The buffalo grass is slightly more pale. In a few spots, the weeds are winning. But throughout most of the plot, the buffalo grass is getting thicker and lusher, staying green, and out-competing the weeds--only one year after it was seeded. Buffalo grass is gaining popularity as a water-conserving alternative to bluegrass. Extension educator Jim Schild, who is overseeing the transition at the Panhandle Center, said native plants such as buffalo grass are adapted to the drought and cold temperatures that lead to problems in introduced species such as bluegrass. Buffalo grass tends to grow best in sunny locations, with sandy loam to clay loam soils. It does not work well in sites with heavy traffic, excessive shade, or extremely sandy soils. At the Panhandle Center, a large area of bluegrass north of the main building was switched to buffalo grass in 2007. First, the existing bluegrass was killed with glyphosate. Ten days later, around June 20, the ground was tilled to 6 inches and seeded with buffalo grass. Since then, the plot has had one weed-control treatment, Surge, applied in June 2008. It will be sprayed with Roundup after a killing frost this fall to kill cool-season grasses and winter annual weeds, Schild said. The buffalo grass is watered with the same frequency as the bluegrass beside it. While the buffalo grass is green and growing, the bluegrass has several brown patches. The buffalo grass is mowed every second or third time that the bluegrass is clipped. Schild said homeowners have expressed a lot of interest in switching to the water-conserving native turfgrass. The Panhandle Center's new stand will be featured at the Big Red Fair on July 29. UNL also will be cooperating with the City of Gering to establish a test plot at the Gering Cemetery comparing bluegrass with 30 other species of turfgrass and blends at different watering levels. For homeowners interested in switching to buffalo grass, there is information and help available. The City of Gering and several NRDs in western Nebraska have provided cost share or other help in transitioning to buffalo grass. Schild has plenty of advice and experience related to making the conversion. Buffalo grass should be seeded between June 1 and July 15 at a rate of 1.5 to 2 pounds per 1,000 square feet, to a depth of 1/2 inch or less. If the area was planted to bluegrass, fertility should be adequate, but phosphorus can be incorporated prior to seeding if necessary. Watering a new stand the first year is critical to establishing a good stand, Schild noted. The surface must be kept damp with daily watering until the grass starts to grow. After the stand is established, watering can be backed off to every other day. Once the stand is established and a root system has developed, water can be applied less frequently. If the goal is a nice, green color, applying--of an inch of water once a week will suffice, Schild said. By comparison, a bluegrass lawn will use 1 inch of water a week during summer's heat. A shorter growing season is one reason that buffalo grass uses less water, according to Schild. As a warm-season grass, its season is six weeks shorter than bluegrass. Fertilizer can be applied to thicken the stand, but the timing is different than bluegrass, Schild said. Fertilizer should be applied in mid-June and mid-July. Apply 1 pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet each time, in a quick-release form, such as urea. Fertilizer applied in early spring or late fall will encourage weed growth. If mowed, the lawn should be cut to 2- to 3-inches. Improved cultivars can be mowed at lower heights, less than 1 inch. Weed control is the biggest issue for new establishments, he said. Any 2,4 - D products used for weed control in bluegrass could carry over and affect the emergence of buffalo grass. Once the new turf is established, weed control should be avoided when the air temperature is over 85 degrees F, as well as during green-up in the spring and when the grass is going dormant in the fall. Schild said it is best to wait until 10 days after a 25 degree freeze, then apply glyphosate to control cool-season grasses and annual weeds. Once a stand of buffalo grass gets thick, it will do a good job of choking out the competition, Schild said. Its deep root system makes it more competitive than other plants for water and nutrients. The Panhandle Research and Extension Center is on the World Wide Web at www.panhandle.unl.edu. 8/4/08 Date: 7/30/08 Advertisement
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