Ornamental · Poaceae
Buffalo Grass
Bouteloua dactyloides
A forgiving native prairie grass that gives you a green lawn on far less water.
Full sun
Every 14–28 days
28–120 days
USDA 3–9
Overview
If you are new to lawns, buffalo grass is a kind place to start. This warm-season native grew across the shortgrass prairie from central Canada down to Mexico long before anyone tended it, and it spreads gently on its own by surface runners called stolons. Over time those runners weave a soft, blue-green to gray-green turf that stays low and asks very little of you.
The lovely part is how forgiving it is. It needs 50 to 75 percent less water than a Kentucky bluegrass lawn, barely wants feeding, and is happy whether you mow it now and then or let it relax into a loose meadow. It does brown off in winter and during a long dry spell, and it would rather not sit in deep shade or take heavy foot traffic, but none of that is hard to work around.
Give it the simple things it likes and it will reward your patience. Plant it in full sun on ground that drains well, go easy on the hose and the fertilizer, and it settles in thick and tidy. If a few weeds and disease ever creep in, it usually just means the lawn is being loved a little too hard, and easing back sets it right again.
Care
The short version: give it full sun and well-drained, heavier soil, only a little water once it has settled in, a light feeding at most, and mowing that is entirely up to you.
Light
Buffalo grass loves the sun and is happiest with at least 6 to 8 hours of direct light each day. It does not handle shade well, so it tends to thin under trees and along the north side of buildings while the open, sunny stretches stay lush, and that is nothing to fret over.
Water
This is where buffalo grass really shines: once it has settled in, it gets along on 1 to 2 inches of rain or water every 2 to 4 weeks in summer. Adding more does not help and can actually invite weeds and disease, so water freely only while a fresh planting is finding its feet.
Soil
It feels most at home in well-drained, heavier clay or clay-loam soils from drier country and is less content in sand. On high-pH ground you might see iron chlorosis, which is a gentle yellowing of the blades, but it is comfortable across a wide pH range from 6.0 to 8.5.
Temperature
This is a remarkably tough grass that comes through anything from about -29°F to 104°F (-34°C to 40°C) across USDA zones 3 to 9. It greens up a bit later in spring and browns a bit earlier in fall than cool-season lawns, and that is just it resting rather than fading.
Humidity
It is at its best in low-humidity, low-rainfall places and finds wet, muggy weather harder going. Damp sites give cool-season weeds an opening to crowd in, so a dry climate suits it far better than a soggy one.
Feeding
Feed it lightly, or not at all, and it will be content: 0 to 2 lbs of nitrogen per 1000 sq ft a year is plenty, split between late May to mid-June and late July. Going heavier with food is one of the surest ways to let weeds move in, so a gentle hand wins.
Pruning
Mowing is completely optional here. As a lawn you can cut it to about 2 to 3 inches every 7 to 14 days, while as a meadow you can let it reach 4 to 8 inches or simply mow once or twice a year. Once it is established it truly needs no mowing at all.
Repotting
none
Size & spacing
The turf stays nice and low at 2 to 8 inches (5 to 20 cm) tall, and it spreads by stolons to 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) per plant, so over time it knits itself into one soft, continuous mat without much help from you.
When to plant
Because buffalo grass is a warm-season grass, you simply follow the heat, and the timing is forgiving. Sow it any time from spring through late July, or scatter dormant seed in late fall so it wakes in spring, and set plugs or sod after the last frost, with June being an easy ideal. Its small flowers drift in and out from June to August, so there is nothing you need to do for them.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Seed treated burrs in spring through late July, or dormant-seed October to December for spring germination; set plugs or sod after the last spring frost and at least 6 weeks before the first fall frost (June is ideal).
- Harvest: Inconspicuous green flowers June to August; dioecious, with male plants holding small comb-like spikes above the turf.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 3–9
Temperature: down to -40°C
Troubleshooting
Almost every buffalo grass worry comes from treating it like a thirsty conventional lawn or planting it somewhere it would rather not be, and both are easy to put right. Take a calm look at the lawn before you reach for the hose, since brown so often just means resting, not lost. Find what matches below and make a small adjustment.
Thinning turf taken over by weeds
When a buffalo grass lawn turns lush and weedy, it is almost always being cared for like a regular lawn, and that is an easy habit to break. Too much water and nitrogen give cool-season weeds just the opening they want, and a damp, high-rainfall spot adds to it. Trim the watering back to 1 to 2 inches every 2 to 4 weeks in summer, ease off the feeding, and pull a few weeds by hand while the stand quietly fills back in.
Fix:
- Cut back irrigation to only what is needed (about 1 to 2 inches every 2 to 4 weeks in summer)
- Reduce nitrogen to 0 to 2 lbs per 1000 sq ft per year
- Remove weeds by hand or spot-treat, especially in the first one to two years
- Avoid scalping; mow at 2 to 3 inches or leave unmowed
Patches that fade out under trees and in shade
Buffalo grass wants full sun and has poor shade tolerance, so it understandably thins wherever it gets less than about 6 hours of direct light. You will notice the open, sunny parts of the same lawn staying nice and thick. Keep this grass for your bright spots and reach for a shade-friendly groundcover under trees and along the north side of the house.
Fix:
- Relocate buffalo grass to full-sun areas
- Use a shade-tolerant grass or groundcover under trees and on the north sides of structures
Bare, worn tracks where the lawn gets used hard
Buffalo grass has poor wear and traffic tolerance, so any thinning tends to show up right where feet and tires keep passing. Paths and play areas wear down while the rest of the lawn holds up just fine. Try gently rerouting the traffic, or pop in a tougher grass where it takes a beating, and lean toward another grass for small, busy yards or sports fields.
Fix:
- Limit concentrated traffic on buffalo grass
- Reroute paths or use a more wear-tolerant grass in high-traffic zones
Straw-brown lawn that is slow to wake up
A brown buffalo grass lawn is nearly always normal dormancy rather than anything to mourn. Being a warm-season grass, it browns off after the first hard frost and may also rest through a long summer drought, then greens up again when warmth or water returns. The crowns are alive and well underneath, so the easiest thing is to wait for mid- to late spring, or offer a light watering if you would like the color back a little sooner.
Fix:
- Wait for warm temperatures in mid- to late spring for green-up
- Apply light irrigation to break drought dormancy if green color is desired
- Accept brown dormancy as normal for this species
Toxicity
Here is some reassurance for homes with animals: buffalo grass is non-toxic and does not appear on the ASPCA's list of poisonous plants. It is grazing forage out on the open range and is safe around cats, dogs, and livestock. The only small thing to remember is that grass pollen can stir up allergies in sensitive people or pets.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats Safe
Buffalo grass is safe for cats. A cat that nibbles a few blades might cough one back up, the way any grass can tickle a tummy, but the plant itself does no harm at all.
Dogs Safe
Dogs can run, roll, and graze on it with no worries. The only thing to keep half an eye on is the occasional grass-eating that ends in a little vomit, which is simply the texture and not any poison.
Horses Safe
This is good pasture grass, and horses graze it freely with nothing toxic to worry about.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits can browse buffalo grass happily as part of a normal forage diet, since it holds nothing that would upset them.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep have grazed buffalo grass on the plains for generations. It is nutritious range forage rather than any kind of hazard.
Birds Safe
Birds are perfectly safe around it and enjoy feeding on the seed, with nothing in the plant to pose a threat.
People Safe
The grass is harmless to people. The one gentle caveat is that grass pollen can set off hay fever in those who are sensitive, which is an allergy and not poisoning.
Like any grass, pets may nibble it and occasionally vomit, and grass pollen can trigger allergies in sensitive people or animals, but the plant itself is not poisonous.
Varieties
Buffalo grass comes in a handful of named cultivars, some planted as plugs for a fine, dense look and others you can sow from seed yourself. Here are the ones you are most likely to meet.
Legacy
Legacy is a female cultivar you plant from plugs, and it rewards you with a dark green, dense, low lawn of top turf quality and almost none of those scratchy male flower stalks.
Prestige
Prestige is another plug-planted female, offering bright green color, better chinch bug resistance, an earlier spring green-up, and color that lingers longer into fall.
UC Verde
UC Verde is a fine, dense, low female cultivar that the University of California bred to thrive in the warm low desert and California heat.
Cody
Cody is a widely adapted seeded cultivar with good density and drought tolerance, and breeders often use it as the yardstick for newer types.
Bowie
Bowie is a medium green seeded cultivar that brings fine texture, good density, quick establishment, and solid winter hardiness.
Texoka
Texoka is an older seeded cultivar that remains easy to find for both lawns and range plantings.
How to propagate
You can grow buffalo grass from seed if you do not mind a little patience and effort, or you can set plugs and sod for a quicker, more even start. Either way is within reach.
SeedModerate
Spring through late July, or dormant-seed October to December for spring germination · Full coverage in one season at higher seeding rates; can be labor intensive
Sow the treated seed burrs any time from spring through late July, or settle them in as dormant seed from October to December so they sprout the next spring. A rate of 1 to 3 lbs per 1000 sq ft can knit a full stand in a single season at the higher end, though that does ask for a bit of labor. Drought tolerant though the grass is, water it freely while it is getting going.
DivisionEasy
After last spring frost, at least 6 weeks before first fall frost (June ideal) · Plugs can fill in within about 4 to 6 weeks when set closely
Set plugs at least 2 inches across and 2.5 inches deep, spaced anywhere from 6 to 24 inches apart, after the last spring frost and at least 6 weeks before the first fall frost, with June the sweet spot. The closer together you place them, the sooner the stolons weave into one another, and snug plantings can fill in within about 4 to 6 weeks. If you would like instant cover, sod works beautifully too.
Myths
Buffalo grass needs the same watering and feeding as a Kentucky bluegrass or fescue lawn.
It is a low-input native, and fussing over it can actually do harm. Pour on water and fertilizer and you open the door to the weeds and disease you were hoping to avoid, which feels backward but is true. Once established it gets by on 50 to 75 percent less water than Kentucky bluegrass and only 0 to 2 lbs of nitrogen per 1000 sq ft a year, so a light touch is the kindest thing.