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A diverse, low-growing native groundcover for places where you want something that looks and functions more like a lawn than a Wildflower Meadow.
Alter-NATIVE Lawn Mix uses a full stand of short native grasses that generally remain about 4-8 inches tall until they send up seedheads. Choose Classic for an all-grass native lawn, or Classic + Color for the same full-rate grass planting with a light scattering of native Wildflowers.
Soils: Dry to dry-mesic
Light: Full sun to light part shade; best at 0-30% shade, with increasing limitations as shade approaches 50%
Typical grass foliage: About 4-8 inches
Seedheads: Often around knee high or somewhat taller; mow them if you prefer a shorter appearance
Diversity: 5+ native grass species; Classic + Color also includes 8+ native Wildflower species
Both versions are designed at a full seeding rate so the native plants can develop into a dense, occupied groundcover rather than intentionally leaving open space between plants. Choose the size of your planting area under Coverage and choose Classic or Classic + Color under Variety.
If you’re purchasing for cost-share programs, visit our Cost-Share Shop.
Price range: $21.00 through $2,542.00
Alter-NATIVE Lawn Mix is for people who want the general function and scale of a lawn while using a more diverse group of native plants. It is not intended to imitate the perfectly uniform appearance of a conventional turfgrass lawn.
Expect different leaf widths, textures, growth habits and shades of green. Some grasses will look finer and some broader. The result is a low-growing native groundcover that can be managed much like a lawn while still looking recognizably different from conventional turf.
This mix is a good fit anywhere a customer wants a native planting that stays much shorter than a Wildflower Meadow: around homes and buildings, in landscaped areas, along paths, beside driveways, around outdoor-use areas, or in other places where a lawn-like scale is useful.
Classic is the all-grass version of Alter-NATIVE Lawn Mix. It contains at least 5 native grass species and is planted at a full stand rate.
Classic + Color starts with the same full-rate native grass planting and lightly adds at least 8 native Wildflower species for scattered color and additional pollinator value.
The Wildflowers are intended to represent only about 8-10% of the established stand. The goal is not a waist-high Wildflower Meadow. Think of an occasional flower rising above the grasses here and there. The Wildflowers are generally shorter than waist high, and after they bloom they can be mowed off if a tidier lawn appearance is preferred.
Alter-NATIVE Lawn Mix is seeded at a full stand rate. Our goal is for the desirable native plants to occupy the available growing space as the planting matures.
Some seedings are intentionally designed at partial rates so volunteer annual plants such as Ragweed, Foxtail and other annual vegetation have room to establish. That can serve certain specialized habitat or management goals, but it is not how we generally design HNO mixes, including our wildlife plantings. Most customers would rather have the species they planted filling the site than large openings occupied by volunteer weeds.
With Alter-NATIVE Lawn Mix, we are aiming for a dense native groundcover. If establishment goes well, as the planting matures – often around the third growing season and beyond – the desirable native plants should increasingly grow shoulder to shoulder rather than leaving large open spaces between them.
A full seeding rate does not mean the lawn will be weed-free. The existing soil seed bank will usually contain plenty of weed seed, and annual weeds can be especially noticeable during the first growing season. The goal is that, over time, the desirable native plants occupy more of the available growing space and provide stronger competition.
This is particularly important in a low-growing lawn because tall annual weeds stand out above the desirable grasses. Establishing a dense native groundcover – and mowing when useful during establishment – helps move the planting toward the intended appearance.
The grass foliage is generally about 4-8 inches tall. When the grasses flower and produce seedheads, those stems may reach around knee height or somewhat taller depending on species, soil, rainfall and other growing conditions.
You can leave the seedheads if you like the natural look, or mow when they appear to bring the planting back down. Alter-NATIVE Lawn Mix can also be mowed more regularly throughout the growing season if you prefer a tidier, more conventional lawn-like appearance.
Regular mowing is not prohibited; it simply changes the look. With Classic + Color, mowing frequently enough to remove flower stalks will reduce or eliminate flowering. Customers who want the flowers should allow them to bloom before mowing them off.
The mix is especially appealing to people who want less watering, fertilizing and mowing than a traditional lawn, but management can be adjusted to the appearance the customer wants.
Alter-NATIVE Lawn Mix is primarily a sunny-site mix. It is most comfortable in full sun through light part shade – roughly 0-30% shade.
It can be used where shade approaches about 50%, but this begins to push some of the species in the mix and performance becomes less predictable as shade increases. Poverty Grass tolerates more shade than several of the other grasses in the mix.
A more shade-focused version may be developed in the future, but the current Alter-NATIVE Lawn Mix should not be presented as a true part-shade lawn product.
Alter-NATIVE Lawn Mix is best suited to dry through dry-mesic ground. It generally performs better on the drier side of mesic rather than on rich, wet soil.
Low fertility is not necessarily a disadvantage. High nitrogen can favor fast-growing annual weeds, and tall weeds are especially noticeable in a short lawn planting.
If construction has already removed the topsoil, do not automatically assume that rich topsoil must be brought back before planting Alter-NATIVE Lawn Mix. The drier, lower-fertility conditions can suit these native lawn species, and removing topsoil can also remove part of the existing weed-seed bank.
For someone especially committed to establishing a native lawn, deliberate topsoil removal can also be considered as a site-preparation technique. It is not required for every planting, but it should not be treated as automatically harmful when the goal is this kind of dry, low-input native groundcover.
Alter-NATIVE Lawn Mix is intended as usable groundcover and can handle ordinary lawn use and some foot traffic. Buffalograss and Poverty Grass are both used in lawn-type settings.
However, no living lawn is indestructible. Do not present this mix as athletic-field turf, a heavily traveled path, or a surface guaranteed to withstand constant concentrated traffic.
Before choosing Alter-NATIVE Lawn Mix, decide whether you truly need a low-growing planting.
If you want a native groundcover that stays lawn-like and can be mowed, Alter-NATIVE Lawn Mix is a good fit. If you would be comfortable with native grasses and Wildflowers that are generally around waist high, one of our Wildflower Meadow mixes may provide more dramatic flowers, greater vertical diversity and stronger competition with weeds.
For sunny dry sites, compare Alter-NATIVE Lawn Mix with Dry ‘n Rocky Meadow. For sunny mesic or average-moisture sites, compare it with Prairie Patchwork Meadow. Wet Meadow and Shadows & Sunbeams Meadow are better starting points when wet soil or meaningful shade is the defining site condition.
A common design is to use Alter-NATIVE Lawn Mix as a short, mowable strip beside a driveway, building or path and then transition into a taller Wildflower Meadow farther away.
Exact species and proportions may change from batch to batch depending on seed availability, seed source, crop conditions and the seed lots available when a batch is made.
Classic contains at least 5 native grass species.
Classic + Color contains the same full-rate grass stand plus at least 8 native Wildflower species. Exact contents vary by batch. The seed tag supplied with the order lists the actual species in the mix received.
Good establishment starts with a clean, firm seedbed and good seed-to-soil contact. Existing undesirable vegetation should be adequately controlled before the native seedlings emerge.
Plant the seed shallowly. The goal is seed-to-soil contact, not deep burial. In most situations, native seed should be no deeper than approximately 1/8 to 1/4 inch, and some seed remaining visible on the soil surface is acceptable.
Classic may be planted in winter or spring. Classic + Color is ideally planted in winter so the Wildflower seed receives natural cold-moist stratification, but spring planting is also reasonable because the Wildflowers make up only a small portion of the planting.
If planting late in spring, temporary irrigation can help with germination and early establishment, but this mix is designed so that ongoing irrigation is not normally needed once the stand is established.
For detailed instructions, use HNO’s Establishment Timelines, Seedbed Preparation Guides and Seeding Method Guides to develop a plan for your particular site. Our New Dirt Work Establishment Plan also includes guidance for establishing native vegetation where topsoil has been removed or soil conditions have been substantially altered.
Year 1: Expect establishment rather than a finished lawn. The native seedlings are developing roots while fast-growing annual weeds from the existing soil seed bank may be very visible. Mowing can be an important tool for keeping those annual weeds from towering over the native seedlings. Use the First-Year Mowing Guide for timing and mowing-height guidance.
Year 2: The native grasses should be easier to recognize and the groundcover should begin to look denser, although establishment will vary by weather, site preparation and weed pressure.
Year 3 and beyond: If establishment has gone well, the goal is a mature, dense native groundcover with the desirable plants increasingly growing shoulder to shoulder. The planting can then be managed with as much or as little mowing as needed to create the desired lawn-like appearance.
No. Alter-NATIVE Lawn Mix is a diverse native lawn alternative. It can be managed much like a lawn, but it will not have the uniform texture and color of conventional turfgrass.
The grass foliage is generally about 4-8 inches. Seedheads may reach around knee height or somewhat taller. Mow them when they appear if you prefer a shorter look.
Yes. You can mow only when seedheads get taller than you want, or mow more regularly throughout the growing season for a tidier lawn-like appearance.
Classic is a full-rate planting of at least 5 native grass species. Classic + Color uses the same full grass seeding and lightly adds at least 8 native Wildflower species for scattered color.
No. The Wildflowers are intended to represent only about 8-10% of the established stand. They should appear here and there above the grasses rather than creating a continuous waist-high layer of flowers.
Yes. If you prefer a tidier lawn appearance, the taller Wildflower stems can be mowed after flowering.
It is best from full sun through about 30% shade. It can be used toward roughly 50% shade, but performance becomes less predictable as shade increases.
Usually not. Rich, high-nitrogen conditions can favor fast-growing annual weeds. Alter-NATIVE Lawn Mix is designed for relatively dry, lower-fertility conditions.
Not necessarily. If construction has already removed topsoil, that can create conditions well suited to this mix. Bringing rich topsoil back is not automatically helpful and can favor weeds.
No planting can promise that. The existing soil seed bank usually contains weed seeds, and annual weeds are especially common during establishment. The mix is seeded at a full stand rate so the native plants can increasingly occupy the available growing space as the planting matures.
Yes. It is intended as usable groundcover and can handle ordinary lawn use and some foot traffic. It should not be presented as indestructible turf for constant concentrated traffic.
If waist-high grasses and Wildflowers are acceptable, compare our Wildflower Meadow mixes. Dry ‘n Rocky Meadow and Prairie Patchwork Meadow are often better choices for sunny sites when lawn height is not actually necessary.
Watch our YouTube video about native lawns:
| Weight | N/A |
|---|---|
| Variety | Classic, Classic + Color |
| Light | Full Sun to Part Shade |
| Soils | Dry, Average |
| Height | 4 – 8" |
| Bloom Month | May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep |
| Specialty Uses | Landscaping |
| Planting Season | Dormant, Spring |
Pure Live Seed (PLS) is the portion of good viable seed per pound. It is a measure of the seed that is alive and able to sprout into plants. This product is sold by PLS ounce/pound. To provide one ounce/pound of viable seed, you will receive more than one ounce/pound of product. Read more about PLS here.
