Agropyron cristatum Seeds | Crested Wheatgrass
LATIN NAME: Agropyron cristatum
COMMON NAME: Crested Wheatgrass
Plant Profile
Crested wheatgrass is a drought-hardy, tufted perennial of the grass family, native to the steppes of Europe and Asia and now sown across the northern Great Plains and the dry interior of North America. It grows thirty to sixty centimetres, with narrow, blue-green blades and flattened, bristly seed heads whose spikelets are arranged in two comb-like rows, which gives the plant both its common and its Latin name.
It is one of the earliest grasses to green up in spring, and it stays productive into early summer before going dormant in the heat. The roots are fibrous and deep, and the plant is exceptionally drought-tolerant once established. It has been sown across millions of hectares of the northern Great Plains for forage and for erosion control.
Science & Biotechnology
Crested wheatgrass was introduced to North America in the early twentieth century, and cultivars such as Fairway, Standard and Nordan were selected for the northern prairies, where it became the backbone of dryland reseeding. It persists for decades, and it is one of the few grasses that will establish on abandoned farmland without irrigation.
Its success has a cost. Large monoculture plantings reduce the diversity of native prairie communities, and the grass competes with native forbs and with the invertebrates that depend on them. Rangeland research has documented lower bird and insect diversity in crested wheatgrass stands than in native grassland, and restoration practice now favours sowing it only where a quick cover is essential and native seed is unavailable.
Uses & Benefits
It is used for early spring grazing, for hay in dry districts, and for revegetating eroded land, road rights-of-way and abandoned cropland. It is also sown on mine spoil and on the edges of industrial sites, where its tolerance of poor, compacted, saline soil is valuable.
In a garden it is a useful clump-forming grass for a dry, gravelly border, where its blue-green colour and comb-like heads are distinctive, and it is one of the few grasses that will grow on a hot, south-facing bank without water. It should not be planted near a wild prairie, and in North America it is best kept out of restoration mixes intended to recreate native grassland.
Growing from Seed
Sow in early spring or late autumn at ten to fifteen kilograms per hectare, or two grams per square metre for a patch, at a depth of one to two centimetres. Untreated fresh seed comes up in ten days to a fortnight at 15 to 20 degrees.
Keep the sowing moist until the seedlings are established, then reduce watering sharply; the plant is built for drought and resents irrigation once it is mature. It needs full sun and a free-draining soil. Mow or graze it back after seed set to keep the clumps tight, and divide old plants in spring if the centre begins to die out.
Our Take
The reliable grass for dry, poor, eroded ground, with a comb-like head that is unmistakable. Sow it where nothing else will hold, and keep it off the prairie.
Related Reading
Readers interested in Crested Wheatgrass frequently explore these as well: