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Planting a path
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Posted by nutmegger z6 (My Page) on Fri, Jan 14, 05 at 10:35
| I am thinking of planting a short grass mix of something like little bluestem, broomsedge, sideoats grama, prairie dropseed and red top in about a ½ acre area at the back of my property. I would also like to mix in forbs at some point. Is it realistic to think I can plant a path through this area with something like Texas sedge (Carex texensis) or buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloides)?
Or will all the grasses spread such that I will lose the definition of the path within a short period of time? This is an area that I can’t easily get at with a lawn mower which is the reason I was hoping a natural path would work. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Planting a path
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| Just speculation, but I would think that if you are careful with your placement of seed that you could define a trail, at least until everything goes to seed and mother nature spreads them. that would at the least buy you several years. |
RE: Planting a path
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| Buffalo grass might work pretty well as it forms a "sort-of" turf - it can probably compete pretty well with the bunchgrasses. I have a natural stand of buffalo grass in my yard, and it's good at keeping most of the other grasses at bay - even the non-native (and invasive) quackgrass. I can't speak to your Carex as I have no personal knowledge of it. Nancy |
RE: Planting a path
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| I wonder if buffalo grass is a viable option in Connecticut, since it occurs in very different environment in the dry, hot short-grass prairies. Perhaps you are 'over-thinking' a bit. If you want a path through a meadow planting, all you need is a mower. Yes, the path might be a bit lumpy if all the grasses were prairie bunchgrasses, but you wouldn't have to go to the trouble of planting a separate seed mix in your path. Also, if you mow a path, you can mow a different path each year, which would add variety to your walks, and it would tend to add diversity to your meadow. I manage an area that has a two-acre meadow with several paths that 'move around' from year to year, and you can definitely see that the dominant species differ a bit between the areas that were mowed and unmowed the previous years. |
RE: Planting a path
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| i like the idea of a mowed path instead of the buffalograss. i find that if the path is walked enough it creates itself. i will mulch in wood chips in certain spots to make a more defined path. i also have seen some people use two - 2 x 4 placed next to each other on the ground to define a path. the boards can be moved around - and help bridge those mushy areas... |
RE: Planting a path
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| I would like to thank everyone for their comments. I had thought about the buffalo grass because of an article on the Brooklyn Botanic Garden site that mentions various cultivars for the northern U.S. But the USDA website indicates that buffalo grass is not native to any eastern states except a few southern ones. I think I will probably go with the suggestions to stick with a mowed path. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Brooklyn Botanic Garden / Buffalo Grass Lawns
RE: Planting a path
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| Buffalo grass stays lawn height only if mowed. Left to its own devices and lots of sun, it'll get higher than you want to walk through. How it would do in your area I don't know. |
RE: Planting a path
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| path rush. tho i half hartedly tried to establish a path with seeds once and got zipped... in the future im gonna try it again because it seems like a good choice. froggy |
Here is a link that might be useful: path rush
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