🌾 Native Prairie Grass
Field Crops · growing reference
| Days to maturity | 90 days – 100 days, by type |
|---|---|
| Germination | 21 days |
| Planted as | lb |
| Water | ~0.50–1 in a week |
When to plant
In USDA zone 6, for example: Recommended planting window around Apr 1.
| Spring | |
|---|---|
| Zone 3 | May 1 |
| Zone 4 | Apr 23 |
| Zone 5 | Apr 12 |
| Zone 6 | Apr 1 |
| Zone 7 | Mar 18 |
| Zone 8 | Mar 1 |
| Zone 9 | Feb 6 |
Dates are the typical window for each zone's average frost dates — your own last frost can differ by a couple of weeks. Zone 10 and warmer is effectively frost-free: plant to the season, not the frost. Southern Hemisphere: shift six months.
Prairie Grasss
- Switchgrass · 90 days · 50–150 lbs of forage/plant — Panicum virgatum — tall, vigorous; summer forage, biomass, and wildlife cover.
- Big Bluestem · 100 days · 50–150 lbs of forage/plant — Andropogon gerardii — the tallgrass-prairie king; excellent summer hay and grazing.
- Indiangrass · 100 days · 50–150 lbs of forage/plant — Sorghastrum nutans — tall, golden-plumed; pairs with big bluestem in prairie mixes.
- Little Bluestem · 95 days · 50–150 lbs of forage/plant — Schizachyrium scoparium — shorter, drought-tough; erosion control and wildlife.
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