Here’s a good resolution: Plant plants that will survive. Drought has hit most of the United States in the past few years, and gardeners who struggled to keep their lawns green might be looking for alternatives to nonnative, high-maintenance turf grasses.

Buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloides) could be the survivor they’re looking for. It’s a short native prairie grass that tolerates heat, humidity, and drought with very little water or fertilizer. It is a warm-season grass, which means it goes dormant (turns beige or straw-colored) during cold weather. Male and female plants have small light green to tan flowers. Typically buffalo grass will top out at 5 or 6 inches, so you could retire your lawn mower completely. Now how many resolutions have you made that will allow you to spend more time on the couch?

Common name: Buffalo grass
Botanical name: Buchloe dactyloides
Plant type: Grass
Zones: 3 to 11
Height: 4 to 6 inches
Family: Gramineae

Growing conditions
· Sun: Full sun
· Soil: Average, well-drained. Tolerates clay and alkaline soil.
· Moisture: Dry to medium

Care
· Mulch: None needed.
· Pruning: None needed.
· Fertilizer: Can fertilize with nitrogen when planted.

Propagation
· By seed or by division. Spreads by stolons.

Pests and diseases
· Few problems with pests or diseases.

Garden notes
· Like other turf grasses, buffalo grass will spread. Use edging to separate buffalo grass from vegetable and flower beds, or pull out errant stolons.
· Buffalo grass isn’t salt-tolerant. Don’t use it to border sidewalks and driveways where road salt gets dumped in the winter.
· Buffalo grass is usually dioecious, with male and female plants. The female plant bears small burs close to the base of the plant.

Cultivars
· ‘Cody’ is a dense, dark green grass that’s hardy in winter cold and summer heat.
· ‘Bowie’ has medium green color and fine leaf texture. It was bred for improved lateral growth, so it will spread more quickly than the species.
· ‘Legacy’ is one of several cultivars that were selected to contain only female plants. It’s not sold as seed, but only as sod or plugs.

All in the family
· Buchloe dactyloides is the only species in its genus. It’s found in the wild from Manitoba to Mexico and from Illinois to Nevada.
· Buffalo grass is one of two dominant grasses in the North American shortgrass prairie—the other is blue grama grass (Bouteloua gracilis).
· Buffalo grass is food for buffalo, deer, cattle, and several grasshopper species.

Where to buy
· Easyliving Wildflowers, Willow Springs, MO, 417-469-2611, www.easywildflowers.com
· High Country Gardens, Santa Fe, NM, 800-925-9387, www.highcountrygardens.com
· Prairie Moon Nursery, Winona, MN, 866-417-8156, www.prairiemoon.com

(Text by Elizabeth Noll, photo of Buchloe dactyloides ‘Sharp’s Improved’ courtesy of Missouri Botanical Garden’s Kemper Center for Home Gardening)