No-Mow Grass in Houston

[tstone]

Originally Posted by Wysiwyg

those look pretty tall to me

That is tall grass. It reminds me of the stuff found in the Chicago burbs, but taller. Most HOA's wouldn't stand for this in the front yard, but the back yard is likely fair game.

[Wysiwyg]

Originally Posted by tstone

That is tall grass. It reminds me of the stuff found in the Chicago burbs, but taller. Most HOA's wouldn't stand for this in the front yard, but the back yard is likely fair game.

betcha this grass cant take being submerged in water that collects on the lawn thanks to clay soil. and I bet the lawmmower will flatten them and not cut it because they dont look stiff enough - no mow alright. just by experience I threw in some rye seed on my lawn and they sprouted fast but only to bow eventually and ducks my lawnmower blades

[Latania]

Hummm, I did some more research and there are dozens of no mowing grasses on the market. Most of them are fescues (which I would think are available most garden places) and only one is a bent grass (which is the one I bought and LOVE!). They said it is the naturally shortest grass available.

I think if you are going "native" then you want the fescues. If you want a short grass, then the nomowgrass.com website is what you are looking for.

I called each company and none of the no mowing grasses are GMO though there was an article about some GMO grasses they are trying to shove on the market - ask before you buy if the site doesn't say not a GMO.

I live in Austin and the thing to remember is to plant it over the fall/winter and keep it moist for the first month or so.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

I used to have a zoysia lawn at my previous residence; only had to mow about every 4 to 6 weeks. It grows very slow, so I had to put the lawn in by sod, so it was a little expensive to install, about $1200 for about 3K sq ft several years ago.

[EasilyAmused]

My catepillar grass I don't have to mow at all October through May. Then it's about every 6 weeks. Of course, I haven't been up there for the past 4 weeks, and it's probably all dead due to lack of rain.

[travelguy_73]

Originally Posted by HookTheBrotherUp

I used to have a zoysia lawn at my previous residence; only had to mow about every 4 to 6 weeks. It grows very slow, so I had to put the lawn in by sod, so it was a little expensive to install, about $1200 for about 3K sq ft several years ago.

My next door neighbor has zoysia and it is really attractive and soft to walk on. The one thing I don't like is that even though it is slow-growing, it (1) isn't consistent in its growth (some parts grow faster than other parts), and (2) you still need to weedeat pretty often (which they don't).

[twinkiesmommy2009]

Originally Posted by TFW46

Thanks, mirjaja. Its good to know the downside. I dont care that I may have to re-seed every 2-3 years; seeding every so often is easier on my poor ole body than mowing every week. I ordered enough to double- or triple-seed my yard (to overtake the grass that's been there since the house was built in the 1960's). I promise to report back on how well it takes and how much maintenance-upkeep it requires.

Hi TFW46! Can you tell us what you decided on your grass back then and how it held up? Thanks

[TFW46]

Originally Posted by twinkiesmommy2009

Hi TFW46! Can you tell us what you decided on your grass back then and how it held up? Thanks

Sorry that I didnt report back at the time. Unfortunately, my HOA doesnt allow this kind of grass (and dont get me started on HOA rules). So I donated it to a Habitat-for-Humanity-like group.