Seeding In Buffalo Lawns

When Buffalo Lawns Seed

Buffalo lawn produces a rather unusual seed head that can be confusing for many people who often aren't sure what they are seeing, I've often had people ask me to identify the weeds that have suddenly appeared all over their Buffalo lawn surface, when in fact the Buffalo grass is simply seeding.

Identifying Buffalo Seed

Buffalo seed will appear on a very thick stem which will rise above the lawn surface by a few centimetres, the tip of the stalk will become pointy with the tiny seeds themselves sitting embedded on the top part of the stalk. A closer inspection will reveal the seeds are actually attached to what is like a green camouflaged flower.

The seed stalks on Buffalo lawn are thick as they are in proportion to the very thick runners (stolons) of the Buffalo itself, and when picked the seed stalks will snap off from their base.

Mowing A Seeding Buffalo Lawn

Lawn mowing a Buffalo lawn in seed can often become a laborious task, this is because the seed of the Buffalo and their stalks are extremely heavy compared to normal grass clippings, and a catcher full of Buffalo seed heads will often become twice of three times heavier than a normal mowing session.

Can The Seed Be Used To Re-seed A New Lawn

In almost all cases the answer will be no, but for two different reasons. If the Buffalo lawn is a new hybrid variety like the new Soft Leaf Varieties such as Sir Walter or Palmetto, then the seeds will be sterile, nothing could be done to these seeds to ever make them grow a new lawn.

While Original Buffalo is not sterile in it's seeds, any seeds will need to fully mature before being cut off with lawn mowing in order to become viable seeds. This would require leaving the lawn for around 8 weeks without lawn mowing since the first appearance of the seeds, which may well push the time frame between mowings at up to 10+ weeks, which would never be acceptable.

Segmented Seeding

Buffalo lawns will often only seed in certain segments of the lawn at a time, this will usually follow the greatest areas of lawn health. As an example a lawn which is in both full sun and partial shade may find that it will seed in the area with the full sun while the shaded area will not seed. This is because the area in full sun will generally be healthier and have all the right conditions to produce good seed due to the increased photosynthesis the lawn receives.