A fine-textured grass for the landscape with tall, slender stalks that display airy, remarkably fragrant, light brown, late summer panicles….Sporobolus heterolepis.

Growing Prairie Dropseed Grass (Sporobolus heterolepis): Capturing the Beauty of the Prairie Grasses in Your Home Landscape. It has also become apparent, that a handful of Old World ornamental grasses can be weedy or even invasive in some parts of the US.

Prairie dropseed grows slowly and it can take a couple of years to get fully established. However, when it’s in a location it likes, it is a long-lived perennial—15 to 20 years is not unusual. The grass does not require much maintenance other than removing the old foliage in the spring before the new growth starts.

Transplant your prairie dropseed to their new location as soon as the soil is workable. If the soil is very muddy and wet, you may want to wait until it dries out to avoid compacting the soil and disturbing its structure as you dig the plants out. These native grasses can have very long roots so good luck.

Considered by many to be the most handsome of the prairie grasses, Prairie Dropseed makes a well-defined and distinctive border when planted 18 to 24 inches apart.

Prairie dropseed also doesn’t die out in the center like many other grasses do, so it needs no dividing. In tact, its dense, deep, and fibrous root system makes dividing difficult.

You can clean up this grass in spring, before the new growth starts to push, cutting it back to 3” above soil. When cutting back this grass, be careful to not cut into the crown. You can also cut this grass back in fall if desired, but this will remove any winter interest.

At Nature’s Seed, we ensure that every bag meets or exceeds these guidelines — and big-box stores can’t make that promise. FUN FACT: In early America, grass seed was primarily used to feed livestock. There are hundreds of species of grass, but there are only two grass types: warm-season grasses and cool-season grasses.

Japanese forest grass comes from areas around Mt. Hakone in Japan and is popular for its beautiful and exotic clumping habit. Cultivars such as ‘All Gold’ and ‘Aureola’ have variegated green and gold leaves. This deciduous grass can be identified by its slender stems, which look like tiny bamboo stalks.

Grasses are a common hay ingredient, including: Timothy, rye, brome, fescue, Bermuda and orchard grasses. Legumes, such as alfalfa or clovers, are also often used in hay. Hay may also contain other nutritious plant materials. Most hay is meant for animals (horses, cows) to eat.

Cool-Season Grasses 1 Kentucky Bluegrass Kentucky bluegrass is a meadow-grass that is native to Europe, North Asia, and the mountains of Algeria and Morocco. 2 Perennial Ryegrass Perennial ryegrass is perhaps the most versatile grass seed in the U.S. 3 Fine Fescue