Grass that stays short?
 

Hi, y'all! Been a while since I've been back here, since my husband and I
moved out to California this summer (and oh yes, it IS the land of fruits
and nuts, I am here to testify!!). At any rate, it seems to me that I read a
post here once upon a time about grass that stays short ...? A zoysia or
buffalo grass or some such? The thing is, my husband and I just closed on a
fixer-upper here in Northern California that stands on just short of an
acre. Part of it will be my garden (of course!) but that still leaves us
with a fair amount of lawn, and husband has announced that he is NOT mowing
half an acre every two weeks. So now I am looking for a grass that stays
short or at least grows slowly. We have the advantage in that most of the
lot is now just bare dirt, since the former owners have been keeping animals
on it. Since it is still raining quite a bit here (the tail end of our rainy
season), it seems to me that if I put in some sort of grass right away, it
might actually germinate before summer gets here. (And I know if I don't put
in anything, it will immediately start sprouting weeds!)

For further information, the ground here is black adobe clay (very fertile
but hard as a rock in the summer, mucky mud in the winter). In the winter,
low temps are about 32 F, just enough to nip plants a bit, and in the
summer, high temps reached 105F last year (though in the 90's is more
common). We receive 99% of our rainfall between November and May. Last
summer, there was NO rain -- I saw a figure of about 1/4" over the whole
summer, I think -- and this is the normal state of affairs. We have a well
that is a good producer so we can do some watering over the summer, but I
would like to keep it to a minimum.

I will be calling my extension agent next week to ask about this, but I
thought I would ask here first, since I seemed to remember seeing that
original post once upon a time. If anyone knows about any tough grasses that
grow slowly or to a pre-determined height, please, please let me know about
them!!

Thanks in advance,
jordan

Grass that stays short?
 

Look at the genus, "Carex" that run 4"-6". There are over 200 to look
at. Also, Phyla nodiflora or Phyla incisa may be an option. At around 3
feet and a great habitat cover, Symphoricarpos orbiculatus could be
good.

This is a list of grasses and groundcovers I have in my habitat:

Weeping Love Grass
=

Bouteloua curtipendula Sideoats Grama, State Grass of
Texas
=

Carex spp. Blue Sedge
=

Carex texensis Texas Sedge
=

Panicum spp. Shenandoah Switch Grass
=

Pennisetum Black Fountain Grass
=

Pennisetum Red Dwarf Bunnny Tail Fountain Grass
=

Pennisetum villosum Feathertop
=

Rubus trivialis Southern dewberry, Bramble
=

Stipa tenuissima Mexican Feathergrass
=

Bouteloua gracilis Blue Grama
=

Muhlenbergia capillaris Gulf Muhly
=

Muhlenbergia dubioides Weeping Muhly
=

Muhlenbergia dumosa Bamboo Muhly
=

Muhlenbergia lindheimeri Lindheimer Muhly
=

Tripsacum dactyloides Eastern Gama
=

Chasmanthium litifolium Inland Sea-oats
=

Andropogon gerardii Big Bluestem

J. Kolenovsky
=



amjordan wrote:
=

Hi, y'all! Been a while since I've been back here, since my husband and=
I
moved out to California this summer (and oh yes, it IS the land of frui=
ts
and nuts, I am here to testify!!). At any rate, it seems to me that I r=
ead a
post here once upon a time about grass that stays short ...? A zoysia o=
r
buffalo grass or some such? The thing is, my husband and I just closed =
on a
fixer-upper here in Northern California that stands on just short of an=

acre. Part of it will be my garden (of course!) but that still leaves u=
s
with a fair amount of lawn, and husband has announced that he is NOT mo=
wing
half an acre every two weeks. So now I am looking for a grass that stay=
s
short or at least grows slowly. We have the advantage in that most of t=
he
lot is now just bare dirt, since the former owners have been keeping an=
imals
on it. Since it is still raining quite a bit here (the tail end of our =
rainy
season), it seems to me that if I put in some sort of grass right away,=
it
might actually germinate before summer gets here. (And I know if I don'=
t put
in anything, it will immediately start sprouting weeds!)
=

For further information, the ground here is black adobe clay (very fert=
ile
but hard as a rock in the summer, mucky mud in the winter). In the wint=
er,
low temps are about 32 F, just enough to nip plants a bit, and in the
summer, high temps reached 105F last year (though in the 90's is more
common). We receive 99% of our rainfall between November and May. Last
summer, there was NO rain -- I saw a figure of about 1/4" over the whol=
e
summer, I think -- and this is the normal state of affairs. We have a w=
ell
that is a good producer so we can do some watering over the summer, but=
I
would like to keep it to a minimum.
=

I will be calling my extension agent next week to ask about this, but =
I
thought I would ask here first, since I seemed to remember seeing that
original post once upon a time. If anyone knows about any tough grasses=
that
grow slowly or to a pre-determined height, please, please let me know a=
bout
them!!
=

Thanks in advance,
jordan

-- =

J. Kolenovsky, A+, Network +, MCP
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.celestialhabitats.com - commercial
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/personal.html - personal webpag=
es

Grass that stays short?
 

Emerald Zoysia (or one of the other fine-bladed, japonica Zoysia varieties)
stays short and grows slowly (think 'really pretty, thick, green Bermuda').
Matrella grows a little taller (but makes for a stunning lawn).

Greg C

Grass that stays short?
 

Greg C wrote in message
. ..
Emerald Zoysia (or one of the other fine-bladed, japonica Zoysia
varieties)
stays short and grows slowly (think 'really pretty, thick, green
Bermuda').
Matrella grows a little taller (but makes for a stunning lawn).

Greg C


Hm ... says here in my Internet research that Emerald Zoysia has to be mowed
about every 7 to 10 days ... not exactly what I had in mind, since I was
thinking mowing it once a month! :) But thank you for the suggestion. I
think, after doing some research (which I should have done before bothering
you good folk with my question) that I will be planting some variety of
buffalograss, which apparently requires mowing only two or three times over
a typical summer.

Thanks,
jordan

Grass that stays short?
 

On Wed, 07 May 2003 08:24:52 GMT, "amjordan" wrote:

Hm ... says here in my Internet research that Emerald Zoysia has to be mowed
about every 7 to 10 days ... not exactly what I had in mind, since I was
thinking mowing it once a month! :) But thank you for the suggestion. I
think, after doing some research (which I should have done before bothering
you good folk with my question) that I will be planting some variety of
buffalograss, which apparently requires mowing only two or three times over
a typical summer.

Thanks,
jordan

Take a look at www.highcountrygardens.com They have a blue gramma turf grass
which only grows to about 4 inches. Buffalo is relatively hard to germinate.
If you can find sod, which I believe The Grass Patch does sell, it would be
better than seed. Take a look at the website I showed you.

Grass that stays short?
 

"amjordan" wrote in message
...
| Greg C wrote in message
| . ..
| Emerald Zoysia (or one of the other fine-bladed, japonica Zoysia
| varieties)
| stays short and grows slowly (think 'really pretty, thick, green
| Bermuda').
| Matrella grows a little taller (but makes for a stunning lawn).
|
| Greg C
|
|
| Hm ... says here in my Internet research that Emerald Zoysia has to
be mowed
| about every 7 to 10 days ... not exactly what I had in mind, since I
was
| thinking mowing it once a month! :) But thank you for the
suggestion. I
| think, after doing some research (which I should have done before
bothering
| you good folk with my question) that I will be planting some variety
of
| buffalograss, which apparently requires mowing only two or three
times over
| a typical summer.
|
| Thanks,
| jordan
|
|
|
|

St. Augustine will stay alive but not need mowing more than once a
month or so, if that, when given not much water and left on its own
without fertilizer......voice of experience

Grass that stays short?
 

It must be a terrible responsibility to be an expert on every subject.
"animaux" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 07 May 2003 08:24:52 GMT, "amjordan" wrote:

Hm ... says here in my Internet research that Emerald Zoysia has to be
mowed
about every 7 to 10 days ... not exactly what I had in mind, since I was
thinking mowing it once a month! :) But thank you for the suggestion. I
think, after doing some research (which I should have done before
bothering
you good folk with my question) that I will be planting some variety of
buffalograss, which apparently requires mowing only two or three times
over
a typical summer.

Thanks,
jordan

Take a look at www.highcountrygardens.com They have a blue gramma turf
grass
which only grows to about 4 inches. Buffalo is relatively hard to
germinate.
If you can find sod, which I believe The Grass Patch does sell, it would
be
better than seed. Take a look at the website I showed you.