Buffalo Grass

Year-round

Buffalograss is a warm season native grass found in the Blackland Prairie and Cross Timbers ecoregions of North Texas, which cover the Fort Worth and Dallas area. It works as a low input turf built for local heat and dry spells.

• Native to the Blackland Prairie and Cross Timbers ecoregions of North Texas, so it is naturally suited to the interior of the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex.
• Needs full sun, at least six to eight hours a day, and thins out in shade.
• Handles both the sandier soils around Fort Worth and the heavier clay soils around Dallas, and does not need amended soil to establish.
• Very low water needs once established, often getting by on about half an inch to an inch and a half of rain a month.
• Warm season grass that greens up in late spring and goes dormant, turning tan rather than dying, in winter.

Fall

Fall is the wind down toward dormancy, timed around the Fort Worth area's typical first freeze in late November.

• Growth slows as days shorten, plan the last nitrogen feeding no later than August so the grass is not pushed into soft new growth right before frost.
• The average first freeze in the Dallas Fort Worth area is around November 22, buffalograss will start turning tan and going dormant around that time.
• Keep mowing at the same 2.5 to 4 inch height into fall, there is no need to scalp the lawn late in the season.
• Overseeding with a cool season grass on top is optional and mostly a color choice, buffalograss itself does not need it to get through winter.

One clean, even mow before dormancy sets in keeps the lawn reading as tended rather than neglected once it turns tan for winter.

Winter

Buffalograss goes fully dormant for winter in the Fort Worth area, and the tan color that follows is normal, not a dying lawn.

• The lawn goes fully dormant and turns tan to light brown for winter, this is normal and not a sign of a dead lawn.
• No mowing or fertilizing is needed while dormant, roughly December through February in North Texas.
• Foot traffic on the dormant lawn is fine, but hold off on herbicide or major soil work until spring green-up.

The tan winter color is normal seasonal dormancy, not a dead lawn, worth mentioning if an HOA committee raises it.

Spring

Spring is green-up and, if needed, establishment season for buffalograss in the Fort Worth area, timed to the local last freeze.

• Buffalograss usually greens up around April, once soil temperatures warm past about 65 degrees, a few weeks after the average last freeze near March 12 in the Dallas Fort Worth area.
• If plugging or overseeding a new patch, wait until nighttime temperatures stay reliably above 60 degrees, typically late April into May, for the best establishment.
• Hold off on fertilizer until the lawn is fully green, then one light nitrogen application, no more than half a pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet, is enough to start the season.
• Mow at 2.5 to 4 inches, and wait for the first real flush of new growth before the first cut.

Summer

Summer is buffalograss's strong season, it is built for Dallas Fort Worth heat and needs very little help from the homeowner.

• Summers here regularly reach the mid to upper 90s, and buffalograss handles that heat well with little supplemental water.
• Established lawns usually only need watering during extended dry spells, roughly half an inch to an inch and a half a month is enough to keep it green.
• Watch for weeds like crabgrass or bermudagrass, since summer heat and rain favor faster growing invaders more than they favor buffalograss.
• One more light nitrogen feeding in early to mid summer is plenty, more fertilizer mostly just adds mowing and weed pressure, not buffalograss health.

Year-round

Buffalograss is a warm season native grass found in the Blackland Prairie and Cross Timbers ecoregions of North Texas, which cover the Fort Worth and Dallas area. It works as a low input turf built for local heat and dry spells.

• Native to the Blackland Prairie and Cross Timbers ecoregions of North Texas, so it is naturally suited to the interior of the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex.
• Needs full sun, at least six to eight hours a day, and thins out in shade.
• Handles both the sandier soils around Fort Worth and the heavier clay soils around Dallas, and does not need amended soil to establish.
• Very low water needs once established, often getting by on about half an inch to an inch and a half of rain a month.
• Warm season grass that greens up in late spring and goes dormant, turning tan rather than dying, in winter.

Fall

Fall is the wind down toward dormancy, timed around the Dallas area's typical first freeze in late November.

• Growth slows as days shorten, plan the last nitrogen feeding no later than August so the grass is not pushed into soft new growth right before frost.
• The average first freeze in the Dallas Fort Worth area is around November 22, buffalograss will start turning tan and going dormant around that time.
• Keep mowing at the same 2.5 to 4 inch height into fall, there is no need to scalp the lawn late in the season.
• Overseeding with a cool season grass on top is optional and mostly a color choice, buffalograss itself does not need it to get through winter.

One clean, even mow before dormancy sets in keeps the lawn reading as tended rather than neglected once it turns tan for winter.

Winter

Buffalograss goes fully dormant for winter in the Dallas area, and the tan color that follows is normal, not a dying lawn.

• The lawn goes fully dormant and turns tan to light brown for winter, this is normal and not a sign of a dead lawn.
• No mowing or fertilizing is needed while dormant, roughly December through February in North Texas.
• Foot traffic on the dormant lawn is fine, but hold off on herbicide or major soil work until spring green-up.

The tan winter color is normal seasonal dormancy, not a dead lawn, worth mentioning if an HOA committee raises it.

Spring

Spring is green-up and, if needed, establishment season for buffalograss in the Dallas area, timed to the local last freeze.

• Buffalograss usually greens up around April, once soil temperatures warm past about 65 degrees, a few weeks after the average last freeze near March 12 in the Dallas Fort Worth area.
• If plugging or overseeding a new patch, wait until nighttime temperatures stay reliably above 60 degrees, typically late April into May, for the best establishment.
• Hold off on fertilizer until the lawn is fully green, then one light nitrogen application, no more than half a pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet, is enough to start the season.
• Mow at 2.5 to 4 inches, and wait for the first real flush of new growth before the first cut.

Summer

Summer is buffalograss's strong season, it is built for Dallas Fort Worth heat and needs very little help from the homeowner.

• Summers here regularly reach the mid to upper 90s, and buffalograss handles that heat well with little supplemental water.
• Established lawns usually only need watering during extended dry spells, roughly half an inch to an inch and a half a month is enough to keep it green.
• Watch for weeds like crabgrass or bermudagrass, since summer heat and rain favor faster growing invaders more than they favor buffalograss.
• One more light nitrogen feeding in early to mid summer is plenty, more fertilizer mostly just adds mowing and weed pressure, not buffalograss health.