Ornamental · Poaceae
Buffalo Grass
Bouteloua dactyloides
A fine-bladed native prairie grass that holds a green carpet on a fraction of the water.
Full sun
Every 14–28 days
28–120 days
USDA 3–9
Overview
Buffalo grass is a warm-season native of the shortgrass prairie, ranging from central Canada down to Mexico. Up close it is all fine, narrow blades in shades of blue-green to gray-green, lying low and tangling together over the soil. It throws out surface runners called stolons that creep sideways and root as they go, stitching the loose blades into a soft, even mat.
What stands out is how much that slight, low growth withstands. The same thin blades that look delicate get by on 50 to 75 percent less water than a Kentucky bluegrass lawn, ask for almost no feeding, and take to occasional mowing or none. In cold and deep drought the green drains out of the blades to a pale straw, and the fine texture thins where shade or hard use wears at it.
Seen for what it is, a lean, fine-textured prairie grass, it holds together well. Set in full sun on well-drained ground, with little water and feed, the blades stay close and dense and the runners keep the mat tight. Treat it like a plush conventional lawn and the stand loosens, opening gaps to the weeds and disease the tight prairie texture would otherwise close out.
Care
The short version: these fine blades want strong sun, well-drained and heavier clay underfoot, barely any water once rooted, at most a light feeding, and mowing left entirely to your taste.
Light
Buffalo grass wants at least 6 to 8 hours of direct light a day to keep its blades close and full of color. In shade it has poor tolerance, so the fine texture thins to a sparse scatter under trees and on the north side of buildings, while the open, sunny stretches stay dense.
Water
The slender blades carry the whole story: once established, the grass holds its green on just 1 to 2 inches of rain or water every 2 to 4 weeks in summer. More water does not deepen the color and instead invites weeds and disease into the gaps. Generous watering belongs only to a new planting still rooting in.
Soil
The runners take best to well-drained, heavier clay or clay-loam soils of dry country and grip poorly in sand. On high-pH ground the blades can pale with iron chlorosis, a yellowing along their length, though the grass holds color across a wide pH range from 6.0 to 8.5.
Temperature
The fine turf is far hardier than it looks, holding from about -29°F to 104°F (-34°C to 40°C) across USDA zones 3 to 9. The blades green up later in spring and fade to straw earlier in fall than cool-season lawns, going dormant rather than dying back.
Humidity
Buffalo grass keeps its tight texture in low-humidity, low-rainfall country and loosens where rainfall runs high. In damp, muggy air the fine blades give way as cool-season weeds push into the canopy, so dry climates keep it denser than wet ones.
Feeding
A little nitrogen keeps the blades green without crowding: 0 to 2 lbs of nitrogen per 1000 sq ft a year is plenty, split between late May to mid-June and late July. Heavier feeding pushes soft growth that opens the fine mat to weeds.
Pruning
Mowing is optional and changes the look of the blades. As a lawn it is cut to about 2 to 3 inches every 7 to 14 days for a short, even nap; as a meadow it grows out to 4 to 8 inches and waves loosely, mowed just once or twice a year. Established turf needs no mowing at all.
Repotting
none
Size & spacing
The blades stay low, the turf reaching only 2 to 8 inches (5 to 20 cm) tall, and each plant casts stolons out to 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) that root along their length. Those creeping runners are what draw the separate tufts into one continuous, fine-textured mat.
When to plant
Buffalo grass follows a warm-season rhythm, so the timing tracks the heat. Sow it from spring through late July, or dormant-seed in late fall for spring sprouting, and set plugs or sod after the last frost, with June ideal. Its flowers are small and green and easy to miss, surfacing from June to August.
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
Most buffalo grass trouble traces back to conventional-lawn watering or a poorly suited site, and the blades themselves show it. A straw-brown cast usually means dormant rather than dead, so the turf is worth a close look before any watering. Match what the grass is showing below, then adjust the inputs or the site.
Thinning turf taken over by weeds
When the fine buffalo grass blades loosen and coarser weeds push up between them, the stand is usually getting conventional-lawn treatment. Too much water and nitrogen force soft, open growth that lets cool-season weeds break the canopy, and damp, high-rainfall air worsens it. Cut irrigation back to 1 to 2 inches every 2 to 4 weeks in summer, ease off the feed, and pull the weeds by hand while the fine blades close the gaps.
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, washed-out blades under trees
Buffalo grass needs full sun and has poor shade tolerance, so its slender blades thin to a sparse, washed-out scatter wherever light drops below about 6 hours of direct sun. The open, sunny parts of the same lawn keep their dense, deep blue-green cover. Hold this grass to the bright ground and let a shade-tolerant groundcover fill in 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
Crushed, bare lines where feet repeat
Buffalo grass has poor wear and traffic tolerance, so its fine blades crush and wear thin right along the lines feet and tires repeat. Paths and play areas open to bare soil while the surrounding blades hold. Reroute the traffic or set a tougher grass into the worn lines, and pass on buffalo grass for small, heavily 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
Blades bleached straw, late to color
Brown buffalo grass blades almost always show normal dormancy, not death. As a warm-season grass the green drains from the blades after the first hard frost, and a long summer drought can bleach them to straw as well, after which warmth or water floods the color back. The crowns stay green and alive at the base, so mid- to late spring restores the blades, and a light watering speeds the color 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
For animal households, buffalo grass is reassuring: it is non-toxic and absent from the ASPCA's list of poisonous plants. The same fine blades that make good grazing forage on the range are safe around cats, dogs, and livestock. The one caveat is that grass pollen can trigger 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 of the fine blades might cough one back up, the way any grass can tickle the stomach, but the plant itself does no harm.
Dogs Safe
Dogs can run, roll, and graze across the blades without harm. The only thing to watch is the odd bout of grass-eating that ends in a little vomit, the work of the blade texture and not any poison.
Horses Safe
It is good pasture grass, and horses graze the blades freely with no toxic risk.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits can browse the soft blades as part of a normal forage diet, since they hold nothing that would upset them.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep have grazed buffalo grass on the plains for a long time. The blades are nutritious range forage, not a hazard.
Birds Safe
Birds are safe among the blades and feed on the seed, with nothing in the plant to pose a threat.
People Safe
The grass is harmless to people. The one caveat is that grass pollen, shed from the small flowers, can set off hay fever in those who are sensitive, 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 comes in named cultivars split between plug-planted female types bred for fine, dense turf and seeded types you can sow yourself. The selections below are the ones you will see most.
Legacy
Legacy is a plug-planted female cultivar whose dark green, dense, low blades make a top-quality turf with almost none of the scratchy male flower stalks rising above it.
Prestige
Prestige, another plug-planted female, carries a brighter green blade, better chinch bug resistance, an earlier spring green-up, and color that lingers longer into fall.
UC Verde
UC Verde is a fine-bladed, dense, low female cultivar the University of California bred for the warm low desert and California heat.
Cody
Cody is a widely adapted seeded cultivar with dense, drought-tolerant blades that breeders often measure newer types against.
Bowie
Bowie is a medium green seeded cultivar with notably fine-textured blades, good density, quick establishment, and solid winter hardiness.
Texoka
Texoka is an older seeded cultivar still easy to find for both lawns and range plantings.
How to propagate
Buffalo grass starts two ways: from seed, slow and labor-intensive, or from plugs and sod, which knit a fuller, more even mat faster.
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
Treated seed burrs are sown from spring through late July, or dormant-seeded October to December so the blades emerge the following spring. At the higher end of a 1 to 3 lbs per 1000 sq ft rate the new blades can close into a full mat in a single season, though it asks for labor. Drought tolerant as the mature grass is, the young blades are watered freely while they root 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
Plugs go in 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 ideal. The closer the plugs, the sooner their stolons reach across and root, with tight plantings drawing into one mat within about 4 to 6 weeks. Sod lays down a finished mat at once.
Myths
Those fine blades need watering and feeding on the very same schedule any Kentucky bluegrass or fescue lawn would demand.
The fine, lean blades say otherwise, since this low-input native is harmed by pampering. Heavy water and fertilizer push soft growth that opens the mat to weeds and disease, the opposite of what those tight blades do on their own. 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.