Hardiness
Technically a Warm-Season Grass, but remains hardy to -40°F (-40° C)
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Light
Full sun, tolerates some shade |
Soil
Not fussy, adapts to sandy, alkaline soils, prefers well-drained |
Water
Drought tolerant |
Habit
Fine-textured, open habit, that grows in low tufts, spreads by short stolons
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Maintenance
Low |
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Comments:
Blue gramagrass is a native grass of the prairies of the Great Plains and is a low-maintenance alternative for a lawn. It has been used for years as a pasture or conservation grass, but it can be used as a lawn because it can take mowing.
It only needs 10 inches (25.5 cm) of rainfall a year, and is sometimes mixed with buffalograss seed to improve its appearance.
Blue gramagrass has fine-textured, grayish-green leaves, with excellent pest and disease resistance and tolerance to heat, cold, drought, and alkaline soils. It's one main drawback is that it is active and green only between May and October, and is an attractive straw color at other times of the year.
Blue gramagrass can be left unmown for a praire-style lawn, or for a more turflike appearance, mowed three or four times a year.
It takes time to germinate and get established, sow in early spring or in the fall.
Optimum Mowing Height: 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7.6 cm) or leave uncut for a natural look.
Left unmowed, it reaches 15 inches (38 cm) and develops attractive seed heads
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