Western wheatgrass    

Scientifc Name: Pascopyrum smithii (Rydb.) A. Love 

Description:  Western Wheatgrass is a cool-season, native, perennial grass that has coarse blue-green leaves and ranges in height from 1 to 2 feet. Western Wheatgrass can tolerate many stressful environments including saline and saline-sodic soils, drought, and flooding.  It is very cold hardy, shade tolerant, and grazing resistant.  Western Wheatgrass greens up in March or April, matures in August, and goes dormant in early winter.  In native areas it is typically found with blue grama, buffalograss, needlegrasses, rough fescue, and blue junegrass.  Western Wheatgrass is moderately palatable prior to maturity to many classes of wildlife and livestock.    

Taxonomy of Western Wheatgrass   

 Plant Characteristics of Western Wheatgrass 

Uses of Western Wheatgrass

Erosion control:  Western Wheatgrass is commonly used in conservation applications and land reclamation due its high stress tolerance and sod-forming ability.  It is one of the most common components of native grass mixes.

Livestock:  Western Wheatgrass is moderately palatable to many classes of livestock. Cattle tend to prefer it more so than sheep.  Nitrogen fertilization will increase forage yield and palatability.

Landscape:  Western Wheatgrass can be used in full sun and partial shaded areas of the landscape.  It is relatively maintenance free since its sod-forming characteristic crowds out most weeds once establish.

Commercially Available Cultivars of Western Wheatgrass

‘Barton’ (1970, cooperatively released by Plant Materials Center, Manhattan, KS, Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station, and Plant Science Research Division, ARS.

‘Arriba’ (1973, cooperatively by SCS-Los Lunas, NM, Colorado Agricultural Experminet Station, and New Mexico State Highway Department.

‘Rosanna’ (1972, cooperatively by the Plant Materials Center, SCS, Bridger, ID, and Montana Agricultural Experiment Station.)