   Buffalograss - March 10, 1999 Jeff Schalau, County Director, Agent, Agriculture & Natural Resources Arizona Cooperative Extension, Yavapai County Turf grass can have many benefits in your landscape: keeping soil in place, lowering the temperature, providing green space, play areas, etc. Only two negative points come to mind: mowing and water consumption. Ignoring mowing for the moment, water consumption of turf can vary greatly depending on the species. Buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides) is an excellent drought tolerant turf grass. It is native of Arizona found in small, isolated populations in Coconino and Gila Counties. It is much more common in the Great Plains from Montana to Minnesota and south to New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana. This is one of the grasses that great herds of buffalo once grazed on and formed the sod that settlers often built their houses on the prairie. Buffalograss is a low growing, warm season perennial. It can tolerate prolonged drought and extreme temperatures. The blue-green leaves of unmowed plants are commonly 8-10 inches and have very fine hairs on both upper and lower surfaces. The hairs are not obvious but this adaptation offers additional drought protection. Leaf hairs slow air movement on the leaf surface which prevents transpired moisture from being transmitted to the atmosphere too rapidly. Buffalograss is dioecious: plants are either male or female. It spreads by stolons (above ground runners) that have internodes 2-3 inches in length. Each node on a stolon is a growing point that can take root and produce a new plant if it comes in contact with soil. At a glance, it looks similar to bermudagrass, but upon close inspection, buffalograss has no underground rhizomes. In other words, buffalograss can be controlled and contained easily. Buffalograss is dioecious: plants are either male or female. It spreads by stolons (above ground runners) that have internodes 2-3 inches in length. Each node on a stolon is a growing point that can take root and produce a new plant if it comes in contact with soil. At a glance, it looks similar to bermudagrass, but upon close inspection, buffalograss has no underground rhizomes. In other words, buffalograss can be controlled and contained easily. Seeding buffalograss is about one-tenth the cost of sod. When purchasing, ask if the seed has been stratified (cold treated for 6-8 weeks) or chemically treated to break dormancy. If it has not, then it may not germinate until the following year. To prepare the seedbed, till the ground, rake smooth, remove rocks or debris on the surface, then roll with a water filled roller (these can be rented). Sow the seed in May or early June. After sowing, rake the seedbed to bury the seed and roll it another time to ensure good seed-to-soil contact. Sowing rates vary with your goals. Four to six pounds of treated seed per 1,000 square feet should germinate in 7-10 days and grow into a dense stand in several months if given adequate irrigation. Do not over irrigate buffalograss after establishment. Buffalograss is a low maintenance turf that should be used in low traffic areas. It can be mowed to one inch but will use less water and require less frequent maintenance when mowed between two to three inches. Fertilization is optional and applications should not exceed two pounds/1,000 square feet. One inch of water per week is adequate to maintain an established buffalograss lawn and excessive water encourages bermudagrass encroachment. Like bermudagrass, buffalograss will turn brown and go dormant when the weather cools off in fall and winter. During this dormant period, it should not be overseeded with any annual grasses (rye or others). The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension has publications and information on turf establishment and maintenance. If you have other gardening questions, call the Master Gardener line in the Cottonwood office at 646-9113 or E-mail us at mgardener@kachina.net and be sure to include your address and phone number. |