Native Grass for Lawns (that can handle mowing)

[naturalist_nate]

@sunguramy

Aye, we don’t mow our lawn much currently (in suburbs) lots of native (and some not native); our lawn is always green. But in this case there will be just a lot of dirt, and some of it is on a slope, can’t let that just go and see how it does. There was a bare patch that was a burn pile in the yard and in the two years since cleaning it all up, it’s still bare.

I wasn’t using my example as one for you to specifically follow to the letter. But rather more of the species that I found when I let mine grow. Typical meadow species. They handle mowing just fine. They’re adapted to handle periodic intense grazing, which is functionally pretty similar.

As for your burn pile, that soil got sterilized from the heat. Letting it grow back on its own is going to take a long time for the various microbes and fungi to recolonize it. best way to deal with that is going to be mixing some fresh soil in with the sterilized stuff. Probably dig out a bunch of the stuff to get fairly deep, then bring in some new soil and compost and whatnot and mix it in just past the edges of where nothing will grow.

[sunguramy]

@graysquirrel

@teellbee

Turkey Tangle Foot Frog (fog) Fruit, a southern native (https://plants.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=PHNO2 ).

I was just recommending that stuff to my MIL yesterday for her yard, since she’s given up on grass (drought issues). It’s really pretty, bees love it, and I see it growing even in the middle of constantly-trampled trails.

Yarrow and chamomile can also be nice options.

Phyla nodiflora looks really pretty, and love that it is naturally short <3 creating a ‘lawn’ that we don’t have to mow is a huge feature! but looking into it, doesn’t seem super frost tollerant? We get below freezing regularly in winter, lots of frost. Does look like can get it in seed quantities though so that’s a plus! I’ll look up yarrow and chamomile.

@naturalist_nate That’s a good idea, we dug out the trash that didn’t burn (it’s been probably 5 years since it was last lit at this point), but we didn’t dig down into the soil deeply. there were a multitude of trash burn piles and it took a long time to clean up, we still find remnants where there was no existing trash pile to tell us sometimes. At this point, it was near the house site and so is now a part of this nice dirt fill, so it will be a part of what is seeded, but that’s a great idea for other spots we’ve found.

And thanks for links to seed companies, @naturalist_nate and @pisum that’s helpful - I emailed the one that looks like it may have seed for our area.

@pisum Of course! Even if we can’t get a mix easily, we are really bad at keeping “regular lawns” and it ends up mixed anyway. :) Even here in subarbs, I got a bag of native wildflower seed mix and scattered it along the edges, and then don’t mow that part (backyard so hidden from those who peep at lawn rules ;) ) Got a neighbor complaining about a snake in their yard because our “uncut grass” harboring it once hahaha.

(edit & deleting of other posts is because iNat poped up and said to @ people instead of replying, so tryin’ to follow the rules :)