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Grass and Forb Mixtures
for Low Maintenance Settings
   

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* Grass and Forb
   Descriptions

* Performance

* Additional Information

* Acknowledgements

* Contact:
       * Leslie Weston
       * Department of
         Horticulture


photograph by: KANSAS WILDFLOWERS AND GRASSES

photograph by: William S. Justice @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database

Performance

           Seeding mixtures were established at an approximate rate of 3lb/1000 square feet in a well drained silty clay loam soil in Ithaca, NY in June 2006. Prior to establishment, the site was tilled, cultivated and fumigated to allow for reasonable first year establishment. Certain grass, forb and grass plus forb mixtures outperformed others in this replicated trial. Late season mowing provided additional weed management and encouraged optimal performance of groundcover mixtures in 2006. Rainfall amounts were adequate throughout the season and irrigation was only performed initially after seeding. The Ernst seed mixture was very effective in forming a densely established cover and it contained numerous flowering forbs. It was evidently our best overall performer in 2006, several months after establishment. It was also highly weed suppressive.



Seed Mixture
% Ground
Cover
% Weed
Cover
Notes
1. Grass Mixture 61.25 38.75 medium height
2. Grass Mixture 68.75 30 lower height
3. Forb Mixture 40 60 lower height / weedy
4. Forb Mixture 26.25 73.75 lower height / weedy
5. Grass & Forb 62.5 37.5 less grass
6. Grass & Forb 60 45 more grass
7. Grass & Forb 77.5 17.5 mainly grass
8. Showy NYS Native58.75 41.25 grass and forbs, good mixture of diverse plants
9. NY State Native 53.75 48.75 grass and forbs, decent mixture but some grass weed infestation
10. Ernst Mixture 83.75 15 grass and forbs, colorful and attractive, very few weeds
11. Weedy Control 0 100 weeds consist of large crabgrass, pigweed spp., yellow nutsedge,
curly dock, cinquefoil, and many other broadleafs.


No. Seed Mixture Common Name Scientific Name
1 Grass only, med ht, dry Buffalograss Buchloe dactyloides
Switchgrass Panicum virgatum
Prairie Junegrass Koeleria macrantha (cristata)
2 Grass only, med ht, moist Deertongue Dichanthelium clandestinum
Little Bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium
Canada Wild Rye Elymus canadensis
3 Forbs only, med ht, dry Butterfly Milkweed Asclepias tuberosa
Blue Wild Indigo Baptisia australis
Virginia mountainmint Pycnanthemum virginianum
Gray goldenrod Solidago nemoralis
4 Forbs only, med ht, moist White Heath Aster Aster ericoides
Perennial Lupine Lupinus perenne
Obedient Plant Physostegia virginiana
Orange Coneflower Rudbeckia fulgida
5 Grass & forb low combination Buffalograss Buchloe dactyloides
Prairie Junegrass Koeleria macrantha (cristata)
White Heath Aster Aster ericoides
6 Grass & forb med ht,
summer flowering		 Little Bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium
Deertongue Dichanthelium clandestinum
Northern Prairie Dropseed Sporobolus heterolepsis
Butterfly Milkweed Asclepias tuberosa
Virginia mountainmint Pycnanthemum virginianum
Obedient Plant Physostegia virginiana
7 Grass & forb med-low ht,
spring flowering		 Red fescue Festuca rubra
White Heath Aster Aster ericoides
Antennaria rubra Antennaria rubra
8 Showy NY native wildflower
& grass mix		 Little Bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium
Northern Prairie Dropseed Sporobolus heterolepsis
Canada Wild Rye Elymus canadensis
Butterfly Milkweed Asclepias tuberosa
White Heath Aster Aster ericoides
Orange Coneflower Rudbeckia fulgida
Gray goldenrod Solidago nemoralis
Blue Wild Indigo Baptisia australis
Perennial Lupine Lupinus perenne
Tall white beardtongue Penstemon digitalis
9 NYS Native Community:
Bluestem Prairie		 Big Bluestem Andropogon gerardii
Little Bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium
Switchgrass Panicum virgatum
Northern Prairie Dropseed Sporobolus heterolepsis
Prairie Junegrass Koeleria macrantha (cristata)
Smooth blue aster Aster laevis
Antennaria rubra Antennaria rubra
Stiff goldenrod Solidago rigida
Rough blazingstar Liatris aspera
Narrow leaf sunflower Helianthus angustifolius
10 Ernst Mix 153-1,
Showy NE Native WF Mix		 Partridge pea Chamaecrista fasciculata
Oxeye sunflower Heliopsis helianthoides
Wild blue lupine Lupinus perennis
Black eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta
Common milkweed Asclepias syriaca
Brown eyed Susan Rudbeckia trilboa
Smooth blue aster Aster laevis
Spiked blazingstar Liatris spicata
Wild senna Senna hebecarpa
Tall coreopsis Coreopsis tripteris
Wild bergamot Monarda fistulosa
Tall white beardtongue Penstemon laevigarus
Appalachian beardtongue Baptisia australis
Blue false indigo Asclepias tuberosa
Butterfly Milkweed Lespedeza capitata
Early goldenrod Solidago juncea
Gray goldenrod Solidago nemoralis

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