Planting A Grama Grass Lawn From Seed

Learn how to plant and maintain a blue grama grass lawn, plus ideas for how to make your grama grass lawn look even more fabulous.

Bouteloua gracilis 'Hachita'
Item # 27056 		Bouteloua gracilis 'Hachita' Seed
'Hachita' Blue Grama Grass Seed

each $21.95

Item # 99582 		'The High Mountain' Native Grass Seed Mix

each $21.95
  • Topic: Grasses and Lawns
  • Keywords: Grama Grass, Lawn, Seed, Planting, Garden Tips, lawns, grasses, gardens, seeds
  • Date: January 2001

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  • Site Preparation
  • Planting
  • Weeding
  • Caring for an Established Grama Grass Lawn
  • Creating A Wildflower Meadow

Blue grama grass makes a fine native turf grass when seeded at the proper density. We recommend seeding at a rate of 3-4 lbs. Per 1000 sq. Ft. Seeds can be sown beginning in late spring/early summer when night temperatures reach 60° F. Seeding can continue through the summer months until 6 weeks prior to first average frost date.

Site Preparation

Clearing the area to be planted

When preparing to plant a non-lawn area with grama grass seed, clear the area of weeds. Weeds can be pulled by hand. Or the area can be sprayed with Round-up (a non-selective herbicide that kills annual and perennial weeds, including the roots, without contaminating the soil), and the dead weeds raked up 10-14 days later.

If the site has an existing lawn and preparations can be done far enough in advance, the existing lawn can be killed with Round-up. After it is long dead (a month or more) and the roots have had time to rot, the dead grass can be rototilled into the soil. Removal of an existing turf grass lawn can also be accomplished by using a sod cutter (available at equipment rental shops) to completely strip away the sod. Rototilling live grass into the soil is not recommended as this will allow the turf grass to re-grow.

Germinating weed seeds to lessen competition with grama grass

If the area to be seeded was a weedy area and not a lawn, it is important to germinate the weed seeds still present in the soil. This will reduce the weed density when the grama grass seed sprouts. Water the area thoroughly and wait a few weeks to let the weeds come up. Kill the weed seedlings with Round-Up or destroy them using a hoe or by rototilling the top 2 to 3 inches of the soil. This can be done a second time if the area was heavily weed infested for several years or longer. Now the area is ready to seed.

Ex-lawn areas will not have a lot of weed seeds in the soil and seeding of the grama grass can begin as soon as the site is cleaned of the lawn grass.

Planting seeds on a slope

When planting sloped areas it is very helpful to cover the soil with an erosion preventing material, like seed-free wheat or barley straw or aspen excelsior matting that can be pegged into place. The seed is planted first and then covered with the straw or aspen excelsior. A biodegradable soil binder can also be used to hold the soil in place. This is applied after the seed is sown.

Contact your county extension agent for sources of erosion prevention materials for seeded areas.

Planting

Preparing The Seed For Planting

Measure each area to be seeded and calculate the square footage. Next, thoroughly mix the grama grass seed required into a bucket half filled with slightly moist sand. Grama grass seed is very fluffy and this technique will help sow the seed evenly over the entire area. For example; if you are sowing an area of 500 sq ft, mix 2 lbs of seed with the sand and spread the mixture. Measure the next area and weigh out the appropriate amount of seed. Mix the second batch of seed with sand and sow. In this way you will avoid over or under seeding any given area.

Preparing the Soil and Sowing the Seed

Rototill the area to be seeded to a depth of 3-4 inches. Take a bow rake and rake up any roots, rocks and soil clods. Then comb the soil with the rake to leave it covered by shallow furrows. Broadcast the seed/sand mixture by hand. Turn the rake over using the flat side to smooth the soil and cover the seeds.

Soil Improvement (if desired)

Grama grass is well adapted to poor soils and soil enrichment is not required. However improving the soil prior to planting will help sandy soils hold more water and added nutrients will help the grama grass thicken up more quickly. Add good quality compost (at the rate of 1/2 cu yd per 100 sq ft) or Gro power 5-3-1 fertilizer at the rate of 5 lb per 1000 ft2 and rototill into the soil to a depth of 4-6 inches.

Time needed for Germination

Warm night temperatures, evenly moist (but not soggy) soil and rain showers will help Grama grass to germinate quickly, usually within 7 to 10 days of planting. Less than ideal conditions such as windy weather, dry soil and cool nights (due to a cold snap) will delay sprouting. If the seeds have not germinated with in a month, it may be necessary to re-sow more seed.

Watering Newly Planted Plugs

Frequency: After sowing the seed, water thoroughly so the soil is wet to a depth of 4-6 inches. Be prepared to water twice daily, morning and evening. Each time, water enough to keep the top 1inch of the soil damp. Continue twice daily watering until the grass has germinated. Once the seeds have germinated irrigate just enough to keep the soil damp (not muddy) to a depth of ~2”. Initially this may require a once daily regime (morning or late afternoon) for a week to 10 days. As the grama grass begins to grow, watering frequency should be reduced to once every 2nd or 3rd day. At the end of four weeks, the grass should need watering only once a week.

This is a suggested watering schedule that will vary depending on the weather and the type of soil you have planted into. Sandy soils require more water that clay soils. Loamy soils fall somewhere in between. Be sure to actually check the depth of soil moisture in several spots around the new lawn area after watering to be sure its enough.

Watering Sloped Areas: Be sure to mulch. Then water the soil with a fine spray of water just enough that the water doesn’t run off heavily. Come back and re-water 2 or 3 more times until the soil is wet to a 2” depth.

Weeding

Weeds can sprout quickly with the T.L.C. and water that you are giving the plugs. One thorough hand weeding of the newly planted area is usually sufficient to allow the grama grass to get off to a good head start. If you chose not to hand weed, you can use a selective herbicide that can be sprayed overhead to kill only the broadleaf weeds, leaving the grama grass unaffected. Turf experts recommend a single application of 2,4-D (an herbicide used to control weeds in corn). Do not use formulations that mix 2,4-D with other herbicides (eg. Trimec), as these mixtures have been reported to stunt the growth of native grasses. For safe application of any chemical, always follow label directions exactly. Once a grama grass lawn is established, it will rarely need additional weeding as it forms a thick sod that’s weed-proof and will last for a lifetime.

Caring for an Established Grama Grass Lawn

Watering: Once established, grama grass is very drought tolerant. To keep it green and actively growing, grama grass may need extra water during the hottest part of the summer. When depending on natural rainfall, grama grass may brown out in extended periods of hot, dry weather but will quickly green-up after a few good rains. Folks in areas receiving less than 8” of precipitation annually may need to water every 2-3 weeks during the summer to keep it alive and healthy

Fertilizing: grama grass is very thrifty in its needs for fertilizer. Apply a single application of Gro power 5-3-1 in early Fall at the rate of 1/2 lb. of actual (N) nitrogen per 1000 sq ft of grama grass. For example;

5% of Nitrogen =5-3-1 or 20% N =20-5-5 5% x 20 lbs. (wt. of fertilizer in bag)= 1 lb. of actual Nitrogen

Mowing; Mowing can be a helpful technique to thicken up a new lawn. Two months after planting cut the grass to a height of 3-4 inches. An established lawn can be cut 1 or 2 times to a height of 3-4 inches over the course of the summer if you want a more manicured look. Mowing is not a necessity and can be avoided all together if you wish.

Creating A Wildflower Meadow

Numerous deep-rooted native perennial wildflowers and grasses can be interplanted into existing grama grass to create a low maintenance wildflower meadow. Perennial wildflowers that work well include; Berlandiera, Mirablis, Ratibida, Zinnia grandiflora, Salvia pitcheri, Echinacea, Calylophus, Liatris punctata, Scutellaria resinosa, Hymenoxys, Callirhoe, Petalostemon, and Oenothera . Recommended native grasses include Panicum (Switch Grass), Schizachyrium (Little Bluestem) and Oryzopsis (Indian Rice Grass). These wildflowers and grasses are most easily established after the grama grass is well established and not being watered frequently.

For beautiful Spring color before the grama grass greens up, xeric spring flowering bulbs can be interplanted to spread and naturalize. Look for suggested varieties in our fall bulb catalog