UC Verde plugs for san diego advice request

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socal
Posts: 1
Joined: March 5th, 2019, 4:46 pm
Location: Inland San Diego County
Grass Type: Tall Fescue
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

UC Verde plugs for san diego advice request

Post by socal » March 5th, 2019, 9:33 pm

For a type of grass that has been around over a decade I see very little information on it on the forum. I am in San Diego which has seen our water price skyrocket the past few years and last summer while watching my fescue lawn suffer I researched and decided using UC Verde plugs seemed like a good change to make.

A few questions for the experts here. First, will I see significant water savings with this type of grass?

Second, two local landscapers I met with told me that it takes years to cover effectively despite all the online guides saying 12 weeks or so at 12" planting. Do folks here have experience they can offer?

Finally, the online shops recommend killing and scalping the existing lawn then planting the plugs into the ground directly at that point. Would save a ton of work, can I expect good results?

In case folks are wondering about more details: about 2200 sq feet with MP Rotators irrigation with 8 hours or so of south exposure sun a day in the summer. (Think 80% of the day)

From my soil report:
pH 7.6
Organic matter 5.8%
P 24
K 231
Ca 4509
Mg 699

It is a heavy clay soil with around 3-4" of top soil so not using a sod cutter will allow me to keep as much of that precious top soil as possible.

bpgreen
Posts: 3871
Joined: January 3rd, 2009, 2:28 am
Location: Utah (Wasatch Front)
Grass Type: Western, Streambank, Crested wheatgrass in front (with blue grama added in the heckstrips), sheep fescue in back; strawberry clovetr in both
Lawn Size: 3000-5000
Level: Experienced

Re: UC Verde plugs for san diego advice request

Post by bpgreen » March 6th, 2019, 5:23 pm

There aren't very many people growing buffalo grass, so there aren't many people who know a lot about it. I loooked into it a long time ago, but decided it would be dormant too long where I live.

It will require far less water than your current lawn once it's established. I think it will require regular watering at first so that it can establish a healthy root system, but after that, it will require very little watering. I used to know of the top of my head the amount and frequency, but I hesitate to post it now because I may be way off. However, I'm sure it's fast less than fescue needs.

Years ago, recommendations were that you shouldn't fertilize it at all, but more recent research shows that it benefits from light fertilizing.

It tolerates high ph soil very well.

I think you'll be fine panting the plugs into the existing lawn add long as you make sure you kill it completely first. Buffalo grass won't outcompete more traditional grasses.

It does like plenty of sunlight and it sounds like you're good on that front.

I'm not sure how fast it fills in. I think there are a lot of variables that affect that. I don't think I'd count on the most optimistic estimates. If you're in a hurry, you can speed things up by planting the plugs a bit closer together (which requires more plugs so it's more expensive). I vaguely remember somebody in Phoenix pursuing about his results some time back. You may want to search for buffalo grass instead of UC Verde. He may have used a different variety, but I'd think there should be a lot of similarities.

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