Native Plants
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Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
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Thursday - December 10, 2009
From: Humble, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Compost and Mulch, Grasses or Grass-like
Title: Native grass mix suitable for Houston
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Do you have a native grass mix that is appropriate to the Houston area- or will the one you have developed to this point work as well here as it does in Central Texas? If not, when will you begin to develop such a grass for this area? Best regards.ANSWER:
Indeed, we do! Dr. Mark Simmons, Wildflower Center ecologist, has been leading the research to determine the best mix for native turf grass for Texas and the winners are: Bouteloua dactyloides (buffalograss), Bouteloua gracilis (blue grama), and Hilaria belangeri (curly-mesquite). There are caveats, however—all three of these grasses love the sun and don't do well in shade (less than 2 hours or sun per day) or part shade (2 to 6 hours of sun per day) and buffalograss doesn't like sand. If your lawn has shady areas, you can use a shade-tolerant groundcover in that area and use the turf mix in the sunny areas. If your lawn is extremely sandy, you will need to add compost to the sand for buffalograss to do well. Indeed, adding compost to your soil, no matter what its major component is, is a good idea. Please see our How to Article, Native Lawns, for more information about creating a native lawn with these grasses. The article also gives links to seed companies that carry seeds for these grasses. Here are a few suggestions for shade-loving groundcovers:
Calyptocarpus vialis (straggler daisy)
Phyla nodiflora (turkey tangle fogfruit)
Carex cherokeensis (Cherokee sedge)
You can see more native plants for the Houston area from the Native Plant Society of Texas-Houston Chapter.
Here are photos from our Image Gallery:
More Grasses or Grass-like Questions
Need suggestions for native grasses to stabilize hillside Lago Vista, TX.
May 20, 2012 - I was hoping for some advice. We live on a hillside near Lake Travis. 10-12 years ago I removed all cedar trees. There is approximately 1-2 acrees of steep land between our residence and the lake. ...
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Native grasses for South Texas Coast
April 02, 2010 - Grasses S. Texas Coast.
Hello! I love all of the information available in your database Mr. Smarty Plants database (as well as the rest of the site) and find it quite useful on many fronts.
My...
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Nassella tenuissima for Woodland Hills CA
June 30, 2013 - Good afternoon, I wanted to purchase some already grown Mexican Feather Grass (Nassella tenuissima) and was wondering how often and for how long I would need to water said grass on a scheduled sprinkl...
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Groundcovers for Kingsland TX
October 11, 2012 - I am looking for a list of native ground covers and grasses(not lawn grass).
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Winter care of native perennials in Austin
October 19, 2008 - Last spring I planted some wildflowers suggested by Deryn Davidson. they did extremely well. I planted-Gulf Muhly,Big Muhly,Red Yucca,Purple Cone Flower,Wine Cup, Large Buttercup And Mealy Blue sage, ...
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