Thanks for the update! :-) I am soooo looking forward to planting it this year. I think my neighbor is going to try it, too.

- Michelle

Hey, bp, yeah, it takes some time but it is worth the wait. :) I haven't watered yet this spring and it is a nice bluish-green. Gets its first haircut this w/e, too.

I planted the wheat grass on my pond dike 8-9 years ago, and it's spread now all around and out into the neighboring pasture. It's kind of an interesting phenomenon, it spread from my property to the non-irrigated pasture next door, then all along 500 yards X 20 yards of fence, and now spreading back into the drier parts of my yard. Have a bit of water, will travel.

Does it make a good pasture grass? I need to reseed next to my pond this Fall. The geese and the horses tear up the turf, and it hasn't gotten to naturally reseed itself in years (stays grazed down). I fenced out the horses for a couple of years, and the geese really enjoyed that. :-)

Cheers,
Michelle

Michelle, I dunno how nutritious it is, but as soon as they let the cattle into that pasture, its the first thing they hit.

According to the "a href="http://www.pawneebuttesseed.com/guide_to_grasses.htm">Pawnee Butte guide to grasses:

Western wheatgrass:
"Used for pasture and hay. Also used in erosion
control in conservation practices and in critical
area soil stabilization and mine reclamation.
Easier managed when seeded alone but may be
recommended for use with other grasses not dif-
fering greatly in palatability and phenology.
Leave 3 to 4" stubble when grazing to maintain
stands. Palatable in early growth stages."

Streambank wheatgrass:
"Considered a special-purpose grass, usable
chiefly for soil stabilization of disturbed lands,
including roadsides, airports, recreation areas,
and construction sites with little maintenance.
Also used on drier parts of ditches, canals,
waterways, and for mine spoils. Widely used for
low ground cover. Avoid grazing of seedling
stands until they are firmly rooted and headed.
Well-adapted in the intermountain area."

Oooh, thanks for the info. Sounds like a good one to reseed around the ponds this Fall. I can put up a little bit of electric to keep them out of it.

That is interesting that streambank is used for disturbed lands. I can think of several good places to plant some of that - one place being the road berm across the street that got torn up and now has come up almost completely in dreaded foxtails. I was planning to mow it and bag up all the seed & dump it far, far away from my house. Nasty stuff...

I wonder how well streambank competes with russian knapweed.

Cheers,
Michelle

Arrgh. I mistyped the href above. It should have been this:
Pawnee Butte guide to grasses

They have PDFs on lots of different grasses.

According to the Colorado extension service, streambank wheatgrass will establish only after controlling the knapweed first.

David--I meant to ask if you let it go to seed or if the spreading was via rhizomes (or both). I'll be mowing, so I hope there's a lot of spreading via rhizomes.

BP, my impression is that it is spreading by rhizomes, the cattle keep it mowed down so it rarely forms seed heads. I'm also finding it popping up elsewhere in the lawn where the unknown beasties are killing the KBG blend - a sprig or two.

That's good to hear. That means mine should spread as the KBG dies out.

I posted pictures in a thread on the lawncare forum.