Crested wheatgrass

Crested Wheatgrass is a long-lived annual cool season bunchgrass. In areas of more moisture they are nearly sod like. They grow with culms that are erect and grow from 1 to 3 feet tall.

AREA OF ADAPTATION: This grass if found in the Northern Great Plains and the Intermountain regions. It is generally adapted to the 9 to 15 inch. It can be seeded on selected sites of the Central Rockies up to 9,000 feet in elevation. Generally, it is not found below 5,000 feet in Arizona and New Mexico.

PLANTING: Drill the seed in firm seedbed at 1/2 to 3/4-inch depth on loams. In coarser, drier, looser seedbeds use 1 inch depth and in clayey soils use 1/4 inch depth. Commonly used seeding rates vary from 5 to 10 lbs. per acre on semiarid and subhumid sites. Seed before or very early during the 2-month period with the most favorable conditions for germination and establishment.

MANAGEMENT: In the Western US, Crested Wheatgrass is valued in providing palatable early season forage, especially following large sagebrush removal. It is seeded for non-irrigated pastures and hay. Stands are more efficiently managed when fenced separate from native rangelands. Rotation spring grazing is recommended. Use only 65% of the herbage, then rotate.

PLANTING DATES: March - June