Native Plants
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Sunday - October 05, 2014
From: San Francisco, CA
Region: California
Topic: Turf, Grasses or Grass-like
Title: Alternative to Habiturf™ for San Franciso area
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Will Habiturf thrive in San Francisco? My current sod lawn is dying because the soil has become extremely hard. I'll replace the top couple of inches but underneath is a mix of sand and clay.ANSWER:
Habiturf™ was developed for Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and some areas of Arizona. It would not thrive in San Francisco. However, UC Davis has developed a buffalograss called UC Verde Buffalograss that is geared towards California soils and climate. In some areas of California it thrives quite well. You can see photos of UC Verde Buffalograss lawns in the San Francisco area on the Houzz website. It requires plenty of sunshine to do well—it does NOT thrive in the shade. The UC Verde Buffalograss webpage has instructions for preparing your site for a new lawn.
The City of Santa Barbara has an article, Water Wise Lawn Alternatives, that has three possibilities for grasses/grass-like plants that will grow in the San Francisco area:
- Agrostis pallens (California Bent Grass) Here is more information from University of California Cooperative Extension Sacramento County.
- Carex pansa (Sanddune sedge) Here is more information from Bay Natives in San Francisco.
- Carex praegracilis (Clustered field sedge) Here is more information from Pacific Horticulture.
The University of California Cooperative Extension's Santa Clara Master Gardeners has an article, "Rethinking Your Lawn" that recommends the grasses and grass-like plants named above as well as other suggestions for alternatives to regular water-intensive lawns.
More Turf Questions
Mowing the multi-species buffalo grass lawn
June 23, 2011 - I am planning on putting in a buffalo grass lawn in an area that is little used. I read that a mix of buffalo, blue grama, and curly mesquite is good for better cover but I am concerned about the blu...
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Low maintenance native plants for sloping lawn in Maine
June 07, 2005 - Hello, we live in Maine and have clay-ey soil with a lot of sun. I suspect the soil is acidic as well. We would like to replace at least part of our small front lawn with native ground cover or gras...
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Native grass lawn for San Antonio
June 25, 2011 - Dear Mr Smartyplants, I live outside of San Antonio and my question is in regards to putting in a native grass lawn. What type of soil should I put down? I've sprayed herbicide and was planning on ...
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Grass for sunny Texas lawn
February 28, 2009 - We lost our front yard(bermuda) last summer/fall due to grubs(we think). When and what type of grass seed do we do this spring to plant a new yard? We can't afford to lay sod. It's mostly sunny. We ...
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Native grasses for shady yard in Austin
September 04, 2011 - I was looking at your research on native grasses to be used in a yard. I want to plant your native mix of seeds, but worry that there is too much shade in my yard. I live in central Austin and wante...
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