Native Grasses

Native and Reclamation Seed

Our native seed experts know this business and work in it every day. Native species are the key to effectively reclaiming areas damaged during construction of roads, golf courses, parks, mining and energy projects. We have the quality control to ensure that our products are the best. We own Canada's largest privately held seed laboratory where our lab technicians are specifically trained and certified to work with our native species product lineup. This is our quality assurance to everyone we work with.

Click on the species name below for more information on that particular variety.

Species:

•Clover •Vetch •Alkaligrass •Bluegrass •Bromegrass •Fescues
•Dryland •Wetland •Wheatgrass •Wildrye •Others

Clover

Variety	Key Features	Growth Habit	Soil pH	Soil Type	Approx. Seeds/lb	Canopy Mature Height
White Prairie Clover (Delea candida)	• Native to central Canada • Attracts pollinators	Tap root	Acidic, neutral and basic	Light sandy and medium loamy	278,000	24"-36"
Purple Prarie Clover (Dalea purpureum var. purpureum)	• Flowers attract pollinators • Highly palatable and nutritious • Wildlfe like to graze	Tap root	Neutral	Medium to moderatly fine	210,000	12"-24"

Vetch

Variety	Key Features	Growth Habit	Soil pH	Soil Type	Approx. Seeds/lb	Canopy Mature Height
American Vetch (Vicia americana)	• Highly palatable • Adds Nitrogen to soil	Tap root	Neutral to acidic	Medium to moderately fine,	33,000	12"-26"
Canada Milkvetch (Astragalus canandensis)	• Great for bees • Nitrogen fixer • Food source for songbirds	Rhizomatous	Neutral	Medium to moderately fine, moderately course	226,000	12"-40"
Hairy Vetch (Introduced) (Vicia villosa)	• Introduced species not native • Fodder vetch • Nitrogen fixer	Tap root	Neutral	Sandy clay	20,000	12"-24"

Alkali Grass

Variety	Key Features	Growth Habit	Soil pH	Soil Type	Approx. Seeds/lb	Canopy Mature Height
Fults Alkaligrass (Introduced) (Puccinellia distans)	• Introduced species • Very salt-tolerant	Rhizomatous	Basic to neutral	Moderately fine, moderately coarse	1,200,000	12"-24"
Inland Saltgrass (Distichlis spicta)	• Useful salt-tolerant native grass • Nesting grounds for birds	Rhizomatous	Saline to alkaline	Moderately fine to medium	520,000	12"-24"

Blue Grass

Variety	Key Features	Growth Habit	Soil pH	Soil Type	Approx. Seeds/lb	Canopy Mature Height
Alpine Bluegrass (Poa alpina)	• Colonizies disturbances • Tolerates heavy traffic • Native to alpine meadows	Bunchgrass	Acidic to alkaline	Clay soils to well drained gravel	1,000,000	10-50 cm
Canada Bluegrass (Introduced) (Poa compressa)	• Introduced species • Sod forming grass • Stabilizes low fertile soils	Rhizomatous	Neutral, acidic, basic	Moderately fine to moderately coarse	2,500,000	6"-12"
Fowl Bluegrass (Poa palustris)	• Native to wet marshlands • Very vigorous • Loves slough and dugouts	Bunch to weak sod forming	Acidic to neutral	Peat soils to clay	3,156,000	12"-24"
Sandberg Bluegrass (Poa secunda ssp. Sandbergii)	• Early green up in spring • Seed in burned areas • Tolerates cold and drought	Bunchgrass	Neutral, basic, acidic	Moderately coarse, medium, moderately fine	1,047,000	5"-11"

Brome Grass

Variety	Key Features	Growth Habit	Soil pH	Soil Type	Approx. Seeds/lb	Canopy Mature Height
Fringed Brome (Bromus ciliatus)	• Excellent for roadside ditches • Very tolerant of cold	Bunchgrass	Neutral, acidic, basic	Medium, moderately coarse, moderately fine	136,000	60-100 cm
Mountain Brome (Bromus marginatus)	• Rapid seed development • Ideal root system for stabilizing slopes • Rated high for elk and mule deer	Bunchgrass	Neutral to basic	Medium to moderately fine	64,000	24"-36"
Nodding Brome (Bromus anomalus)	• Preferred forage by elk • Graceful nodding seedheads	Bunchgrass	Neutral to basic	Coarse	142,800	5"-12"

Fescue

Variety	Key Features	Growth Habit	Soil pH	Soil Type	Approx. Seeds/lb	Canopy Mature Height
Rocky Mountain Fescue (Festuca saximontana)	• Deer resistant • Low growing habit • Quick germination	Bunchgrass	Neutral to slightly acidic	Sandy to well drained loam	475,000	10-60 cm
Rough Fescue (Foothills) (Festuca campestris)	• Good early spring protein • Forage for mule deer and big horn sheep	Dense tufted	Neutral	Moderately coarse, medium to moderately fine	199,000 to 300,000	40-120 cm
Rough Fescue (Plains) (Festuca hallii)	• Good early spring protein • Forage for mule deer and big horn sheep	Tufted & slighty rhizomatous	Neutral	Medium to heavy textured soils	403,000	8"-18"
Hard Fescue (Introduced) (Festuca trachphylla)	• Introduced species • Shade tolerant • Non-invasive • Dark green color	Bunchgrass	Acidic yo neutral	Loam to sandy loam	565,000	6"-12"
Sheep Fescue (Introduced) (Festuca ovina)	• Introduced species • Shade tolerant more than hard fescue • Non-invasive • Dark green color	Bunchgrass	Acidic to neutral	Loam to gravel	680,000	6"-12"
Idaho Fescue (Festuca idahoensis)	• Mid season grass • Grazed by deer • Grows in a wide variety of soil types	Bunchgrass	Neutral, acidic, basic	Heavy soils to well drained	450,000	Up to 1 m

Dryland Grass

Variety	Key Features	Growth Habit	Soil pH	Soil Type	Approx. Seeds/lb	Canopy Mature Height
Green Needlegrass (Nassella viridula)	• Good soil stabilizer • Good seedling vigour • Very good palatability	Bunchgrass	Neutral to basic	Medium to coarse	180,000	150-120 cm
Needle & Thread Grass (Hesperostipa comata ssp. comata)	• Characteristics awns • Very drought tolerant • Widely adapted to sandy and poor soils	Bunchgrass	Neutral to basic	Coarse to well drained	115,000	30-70 cm
Western Porcupine Grass (Stipa curtiseta)	• Mature awns resemble quills of a porcupine • Can be grazed before seed heads appear • Natural tendancy to establish on disturbed sites	Bunchgrass	Acidic to alkaline	Very dry, poor soils	203,000	12"-18"
Junegrass (Koeleria macrantha)	• Blue green in colur • Excellent results stabilizing tailings • Early spring growth	Bunchgrass	Neutral to basic	Medium to moderately fine	2,315,400	4"-8"
Prairie Sandreed (Calamovilfa longifolia)	• Great erosion control • Not salt tolerant • Sod forming on sandy sites	Rhizomatous	Neutral	Coarse to moderately coarse	237,000	30"-46"
Sand Dropseed (Sporobolus cryptandrus)	• Long-lived perennial • Not salt tolerant • Sod forming on sandy sites	Bunchgrass	Saline to alkine	Sandy dry	5,298,000	12"-24"
Indian Ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides)	• Grows on extreme sites • Deep root system • Good soil builder	Bunchgrass	Neutral to basic	Rocky to sand well drained	141,000	12"-24"
Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans)	• Warm-season species • Does well in infertile, dry land	Bunch to sod farming	Neutral, acidic, basic	Moderately coarse to moderately fine	170,000	25"+

Wetland Grass

Variety	Key Features	Groth Habit	Soil pH	Soil Type	Approx. Seeds/lb	Canopy Mature Height
Spike Trisetum (Trisetum spicatum)	• Does well in Arctic and alpine areas • Does well in higher elevations • Good forage value	Bunchgrass	Acidic to alkine	Coarse to loam	1,800,000	6"-8"
Bluejoint Reedgrass (Calamagrostis canadensis)	• Slow to establish • Very winter hardy • Dominant species on disturbed wetland sites	Rhizomatous	Neutal to acidic	Fine to coarse	2,270,000	23"-46"
Red Top (Introduced) Agrostic gigantean	• Introduced species • Widely used as a pasture grass • Germinates very quickly • Grows well in poor soil	Rhizomatous	Acidic to neutral	Loam to clay	5,000,000	18"-30"
Beckmans Sloughgrass (Beckmannia syzigachne)	• Grows along shorelines, wet meadows, ditches • Short lived perennial/annual	Tufted & slightly rhizomatous	Neutral, acidic, basic	Wet areas	1,150,000	12"-40"
Tickelgrass (Agrostis scabra)	• Tolertes low pH soil • Likes wet meadows but also dry open slopes	Bunchgrass	acidic to neutral	Rocky, infertile, barren	4,000,000	6"-10"
Tufted Hairgrass (Deschampsia caespitosa)	• Grows in wet acidic soils • Grows in mine tailings and heavy metals/ hydrocarbon	Bunchgrass	Acidic	Sandy to clay	1,500,000	6"-15"

Wheat Grass

Variety	Key Features	Growth Habit	Soil pH	Soil Type	Approx. Seeds/lb	Canopy Mature Height
Slender Wheatgrass (Elymus trachycalus)	• Short-lived perennial • Establishes fairly quickly	Bunchgrass	Saline to alkaline	Medium	160,000	20"-48"
Awned Wheatgrass (Elymus Tyrachcaulus ssp. Subsecundus)	•Similar to Slender Wheatgrass but with longer awns and shorter plant	Bunchgrass	Saline to alkaline	Medium	160,000	20"-48"
Northern Wheatgrass (Elymus lanceolatus ssp. lanceolatus)	• Adapted to a widge range of soil types • Long-lived perennial	Rhizomatous	Alkaline tolerant	Sandy medium coarse	154,000	20"-40"
Streambank Wheatgrass (Elymus lanceolatus ssp. psammophilus)	• Similar to Northern Wheatgrass • Can withstand wetter areas than Northern WG • Good for stabilization	Rhizomatous	Acidic to alkaline	Sandy medium coarse to heavier soils	155,000	20"-40"
Western Wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii)	• Great salt tolerance • Can withstand dry periods of drought • Efficient soil stabilizer	Rhizomatous	Acidic to saline alkaline	Fine to medium	110,000	18"-36"
Violet Wheatgrass (Agropyron violaceum)	• Extremely winter hardy Wheatgrass • Similar to Slender Wheatgrass but shorter • Grows well at higher elevation	Loosely tufted	Acidic to alkaline	Coarse to clay	160,000	16"-40"
Bluebunch Wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata ssp. spicata)	• Drought resistant • Highly fire tolerant • Great seedling vigour	Bunchgrass	Neutral	Medium moderately coarse, moderately fine	140,000	18"-36"
Pubescent Wheatgrass (Introduced) (Intermedium ssp. barbulatum)	• Introduced species • Similar to intermediate wheatgrass • Very good drought tolerance	Rhizomatous	Alkaline tolerant	Medium, moderately coarse, moderately fine	100,000	20"-40"
Fairway Crested Wheatgrass (Introduced) (Agropyron cristatum)	• Introduced species • Similar to intermediate wheatgrass • Very good drought tolerance	Bunchgrass	Neutral to basic	Medium, moderately coarse, moderately fine	265,250	12"-24"
Tall Wheatgrass (Thinopyrum ponticum)	• Introduced species • Very salt tolerant • Good flood tolerance	Bunchgrass	Saline up to pH 10	Medium, moderately coarse, moderately fine	79,000	25"+

Wildrye

Variety	Key Features	Growth Habit	Soil pH	Soil Type	Approx. Seeds/lb	Canopy Mature Height
Canada Wildrye (Elymus canadensis)	• Quick establishing • Short-lived perennial • Good in moist disturbed sites	Bunchgrass	Neutral to alkine	Sandy coarse to fine	115,000	28"-60"
Smooth / Blue Wildrye (Elymus glaucus)	• Quick germination • Fairlu drought tolerant	Bunchgrass	Neutral to acidic	Moderately coarse to moderately fine	134,500	16"-36"
Hairy Wildrye (Elymus innovatus)	• Colonzies distrubed areas rapidly • Good sand binder • Spreading root system	Rhizomatous	Acidic to neutral	Fine to coarse	175,000	16"-36"

Other Grass

Variety	Key Features	Growth Habit	Soil pH	Soil Type	Approx. Seeds/lb	Canopy Mature Height
Big Blue Stem (Andropogon gracilis)	• Warm season native • Likes moist soils • Grows very tall	Rhizomatous	Neutral, basic, acidic	Moderately coarse, moderately fine	130,000	25"+
Blue Grama (Boutelaua gracilis)	• Warm season native • Likes moist soils • Grows very tall	Rhizomatous	Basic to neutral	Loam to clay loam	800,000	6"-8"
Buffalo Grass (Boutelaua dactyloides)	• Warm season, short grass • Resistant to drought, heat, cold • Palatable to deer • Use in low-traffice areas • Erosion control	Stolen and roots form dense sod	Basic to neutral	Fine to medium, Clay	50, 000	5-13 cm
Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)	• Warm season native • Grows well on slopes • In fall, turns a beautiful red color	Bunchgrass	Neutral, basic, acidic	Medium, coarse, moderately fine	260,000	12"-24"
Side Oats Grama (Boutelaua curtipendula)	• Warm season native • Short lived • Deep rooted	Rhizomatous (slightly)	Moderate to alkaline	Medium, fine textured, well drained	191,000	12"-24"
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum)	• Warm season perennial • Grows very tall panic grass	Rhizomatous	Acidic, basic, neutral	Fine to coarse	175,000	16"-36"
Knotted Rush (Elymus innovatus)	• Loves wet areas • Most active in spring and fall when temperatures are cooler	Rhizomatous	Neutral to acidic	Wet, wer mesic	29,600,000	24"

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