Ornamental · Poaceae
Buffalo Grass
Bouteloua dactyloides
A rugged native prairie grass that keeps a lawn green on a fraction of the water.
Full sun
Every 14–28 days
28–120 days
USDA 3–9
Overview
Buffalo grass brings real prairie grit to a yard. This warm-season native carpeted the shortgrass plains from central Canada to Mexico, and it goes right on doing what it has always done, sending out surface runners called stolons that weave a soft, blue-green to gray-green turf low to the ground. Plant it where summers run dry and the soil leans clay, and it gives back far more than it takes.
The fun part is watching how far it stretches every drop. It thrives on 50 to 75 percent less water than a Kentucky bluegrass lawn, shrugs off heavy feeding, and lets you mow when the mood strikes or grow it out into a loose, swaying meadow. It does brown off in winter and through a deep drought, and it would rather skip the shade and the high-traffic lanes, so aim it at the sun.
Work with its lean prairie nature and it really takes off. Drop it into full sun on well-drained ground, hold back on the hose and the feed, and it powers up thick and weed-free. Coddle it like a conventional lawn, though, and you roll out the welcome mat for the weeds and disease it was built to outrun.
Care
The short version: full sun and well-drained, heavier soil, very little water once it takes off, a light feeding at most, and mowing that is optional rather than required.
Light
Buffalo grass chases the sun and wants at least 6 to 8 hours of direct light a day. Shade is its soft spot, so it thins out under trees and on the north side of buildings, while the wide-open, sunny stretches power up dense and full.
Water
Here is where it really shines: once it takes off, it cruises on 1 to 2 inches of rain or water every 2 to 4 weeks in summer. Piling on more water backfires and stirs up weeds and disease, so save the generous watering for a new planting still digging in.
Soil
It hits its stride in well-drained, heavier clay or clay-loam soils of dry country and sulks in sand. On high-pH ground it can flash iron chlorosis, a yellowing of the blades, but it rolls with a wide pH range from 6.0 to 8.5.
Temperature
This grass is built tough, powering through anything from about -29°F to 104°F (-34°C to 40°C) across USDA zones 3 to 9. It greens up later in spring and browns earlier in fall than cool-season lawns, dropping into dormancy instead of giving out.
Humidity
It belongs in low-humidity, low-rainfall country and loses steam where rainfall piles up. Damp, muggy spots let cool-season weeds barge in, so it crushes it in dry climates and falters in wet ones.
Feeding
Go light or skip it: 0 to 2 lbs of nitrogen per 1000 sq ft a year keeps it humming, split between late May to mid-June and late July. Pour on the feed and you fast-track a weed invasion, so a gentle hand wins every time.
Pruning
Mowing is yours to call. Run it as a lawn and cut it to about 2 to 3 inches every 7 to 14 days, or let it rip as a meadow at 4 to 8 inches and mow just once or twice a year. Once it is established, it needs no mowing at all.
Repotting
none
Size & spacing
The turf stays low at 2 to 8 inches (5 to 20 cm) tall and shoots out stolons that reach 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) per plant, so it knits into one continuous mat as it spreads.
When to plant
Buffalo grass runs on a warm-season clock, so chase the heat. Sow it from spring through late July, or dormant-seed in late fall to launch a spring flush, and drop plugs or sod after the last frost, with June the prime window. Its low-key flowers slip in and out from June to August while the turf gets on with growing.
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
Nearly every buffalo grass snag comes from watering it like a thirsty conventional lawn or planting it somewhere it never wanted to be. Size up the lawn before you grab the hose, because brown usually means it is just resting, not finished. Spot your symptom below, then dial in the inputs or move it to a better site.
Thinning turf taken over by weeds
When a buffalo grass lawn goes lush and weedy, it is almost always getting the full conventional-lawn treatment. Too much water and nitrogen hand cool-season weeds the edge they crave, and a damp, high-rainfall site cranks it up. Throttle the irrigation back to 1 to 2 inches every 2 to 4 weeks in summer, back off the feed, and yank weeds by hand while the stand surges 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
Sparse growth giving way in the shade
Buffalo grass craves full sun and packs poor shade tolerance, so it thins out anywhere it catches less than about 6 hours of direct light. Check it out: the open, sunny parts of the same lawn stay thick and full. Steer this grass toward the bright spots and let a shade-tolerant groundcover take over under trees and on 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 ruts along the busiest paths
Buffalo grass carries poor wear and traffic tolerance, so wear pops up right where feet and tires keep hammering the same lines. Paths and play areas thin out while the rest of the lawn holds strong. Reroute the traffic, or slot a tougher grass into the spots that take a beating, and skip buffalo grass altogether for small, hard-used yards and sports fields.
Fix:
- Limit concentrated traffic on buffalo grass
- Reroute paths or use a more wear-tolerant grass in high-traffic zones
Straw-colored lawn taking its time to revive
Brown buffalo grass is almost always just normal dormancy, not the end. As a warm-season grass it browns off after the first hard frost and can also clock out through a long summer drought, then springs back with warmth or water. The crowns keep ticking underneath, so wait for mid- to late spring, or splash on a light watering if you want the color racing back 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
Great news for animal-loving households: buffalo grass is non-toxic and stays clear of the ASPCA's list of poisonous plants. Out on the range it pulls duty as grazing forage, so it is safe around cats, dogs, and livestock. Just keep one thing on the radar, since grass pollen can spark allergies in sensitive people or pets.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats Safe
Cats are welcome to roam through it. Buffalo grass is completely cat-safe, and if a keen nibbler coughs a blade back up, that is just grass doing what grass does to a stomach, with zero harm behind it.
Dogs Safe
Dogs can run, roll, and graze on it without worry. The only thing to watch is the odd round of grass-eating that ends in a little vomit, which is the texture at work and not any poison.
Horses Safe
It is solid pasture grass, and horses graze it freely with no toxic risk.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits can browse buffalo grass as part of a normal forage diet, since it packs nothing that would upset them.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep have grazed buffalo grass across the plains for ages. It is nutritious range forage, not a hazard.
Birds Safe
Birds are safe around it and feed on the seed, with nothing in the plant to pose a threat.
People Safe
The grass is harmless to people. The one catch is that grass pollen can set off hay fever in those who are sensitive, which is an allergy rather than 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 shows up in a handful of named cultivars, split between plug-planted female types bred for fine, dense turf and seeded types you can sow yourself. Here are the ones that turn up most.
Legacy
Legacy is a plug-planted female cultivar that delivers a dark green, dense, low lawn with top turf quality and almost none of those scratchy male flower stalks.
Prestige
Prestige, another plug-planted female, fires up bright green color, better chinch bug resistance, an earlier spring green-up, and color that hangs on longer into fall.
UC Verde
UC Verde is a fine, dense, low female cultivar the University of California bred to power through the warm low desert and California heat.
Cody
Cody is a widely adapted seeded cultivar with good density and drought tolerance that breeders keep using as the yardstick for newer types.
Bowie
Bowie is a medium green seeded cultivar with fine texture, good density, quick establishment, and solid winter hardiness.
Texoka
Texoka is an older seeded cultivar still easy to track down for both lawns and range plantings.
How to propagate
Ready to start your own? Grow it from seed if you are patient and game for the work, or plant plugs and sod to launch a faster, more even stand.
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 treated seed burrs from spring through late July, or dormant-seed them October to December to launch sprouts the following spring. Crank the rate to 1 to 3 lbs per 1000 sq ft and you can knit a full stand in a single season at the high end, though it asks for real elbow grease. Drought tolerant as it is, keep watering it freely while it digs in.
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 prime window. Space them tight and the stolons race together, with close plantings filling in within about 4 to 6 weeks. Lay sod instead and you get instant cover.
Myths
Buffalo grass drinks and feeds just like a Kentucky bluegrass or fescue turf, so give it the same treatment.
Not even close, since this low-input native actually suffers when you pamper it. Pour on the water and fertilizer and you fling the door open to weeds and disease, the exact opposite of the plan. 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 keep that hand light and let it run.