The Horticulture Night at the K-State Ag Research Center in Hays is scheduled for Tuesday evening, Aug. 25. The emphasis will focus on the Prairie Star Flower Performance Trials and the low-water use turf demo plots. The event will occur near the north main entrance roadway through the center.

This year, 216 flower cultivars are being evaluated on appearance and adaptability to Kansas’ conditions. The public is invited to stroll down the grassed borders and take note of the varieties.

Holly Dickman, Ellis Country Research and Extension horticulturalist will conduct the outdoor presentation. She will highlight flower varieties that performed well. And she will also discuss those which did not and offer an explanation as to why.

Jason Riegel, Hays Water Conservation Specialist, and Vaughn Sothman of Sharp’s Brothers Seed Co. will lead the discussion for turfgrass portion of the evening. The demo is in conjunction with the Turf Conversion Program promoted by the City of Hays. This program encourages homeowners in Hays to convert their full-sun exposure lawns currently planted to a cool-season turf to a low-water use turfgrass. The advantages of established warm-season grass is water conservation and less maintenance.

Riegel will share his experience with planting warm-season turf as well as managing the Hays Turf Conversion Program. There is one bermudagrass and seven buffalograss varieties for visual comparison.

Property and homeowners are encouraged to attend. Questions about flower/vegetable gardening and turfgrass will be addressed, but it is not limited to these topics.  Registration begins at 5:30 p.m. with the program starting at 6 p.m.

The Research Center is located south of Hays at 1232 240th Avenue. For more information, call (785) 625-3425.