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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Tuesday - October 08, 2013
From: Durham, NC
Region: Southeast
Topic: Grasses or Grass-like
Title: Grass lawn from Durham NC
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
Durham, NC. Want to plant a small front grass lawn, full sun, dry. Willing to mow. Not good about watering. Advice?ANSWER:
Tis the season to be lawning, tra la la la la la la la. As October takes over, suddenly everyone is interested in next year's front yard. Since we live and garden in burning Texas, you might be interested in our most recent answer to the search for a lawn grass in our very hot and dry land. It has more links in it, and the references to water (or lack of same) probably won't interest you but the discussion of lawns per se might, so follow all the links until you get tired of the whole thing.
Next, we need to remind you that the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, home of Mr. Smarty Plants, is committed to the growth, propagation and protection of plants native not only to North America but to the area in which those plants are being grown; in your case, Durham County, NC in north central North Carolina. And we have to tell you there are not many native grasses that fulfill the requirements of a lawn grass, but we will see what we can find. We will go to our Native Plant Database, scroll down on the page to Combination Search, then select on North Carolina for state, "grass or grasslike plants" for Habit and sun" for Light Requirements, and add the proviso of Height of 1" to 12". With this search, we got 4 results: Carex texensis (Texas sedge) (which really is native to North Carolina, too, honest), Cenchrus spinifex (Coastal sandbur), Cyperus lupulinus (Great plains flatsedge) (we don't even have a picture of this one in our Image Gallery) and Digitaria cognata (Carolina crabgrass). We are pretty sure you don't want crabgrass or sanburs in your lawn, so that leaves the Texas Sedge. You can follow the plant link above to our webpage on this sedge, and note the statement: "It can be mowed at a high setting." Note that it also tolerates some shade, which would be good for most of the people we hear from because they are looking for grass that will grow under trees. It does, however, also grow in sun and can take moist or dry conditions, which would fit your specifications.
From the Image Gallery
More Grasses or Grass-like Questions
Eliminating crabgrass in Middletown MO
September 28, 2009 - Dear Mr. Smarty Plants,
I am having trouble with my lawn, specifically with the crabgrass in it. It now covers over 1/3 of it. I started using corn gluten meal this year, with limited tangible succ...
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Salt tolerant plants for shade on tidal inlet in NY
August 11, 2013 - Are there any salt water tolerant grasses or forbs with deep roots that grow in shade? I live on a tidal inlet/canal on Long Island NY. The southern bank has cedars and oaks but the soil is eroding ...
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April 25, 2014 - I live in NJ. I would like to use a perennial ground cover for my landscaping bed on a hill with full sun and deer resistant. It's a good size landscaping bed that is facing east (southeast).
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June 29, 2012 - I have an unusual situation: several bare areas in an otherwise wooded area, which receive partial sun, and are not near water -- it rains here frequently, but the soil can become quite dry at times. ...
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Plants to stabilize a bank in VT
April 10, 2012 - I am looking for suggestion on what plants might best be suited for aiding in the stabilization of a very steep bank above Lake Champlain.
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