Sorghum sudanense Seeds | Sudan Grass
LATIN NAME: Sorghum sudanense
COMMON NAME: Sudan Grass
Plant Profile
Sorghum sudanense, better known as Sudan Grass, is a grass in the grass family. Sudan grass grows fast, tall and cheap, and fields know it well. Tall, vigorous, annual grass carries broad, mid-green leaves along strong, upright stems, and open, feathery panicles of small spikelets ripen through late summer. Plant is one of fine, fast forage crops of warm season, cut green for stock or made into hay, and it is a generous, hard-working presence of summer field. Its flowers draw a steady traffic of bees and other beneficial insects. For the gardener, the sum of these traits is a plant that is easy to live with.
Science & Biotechnology
The species features in the wider study of the grass family, and its traits make it a useful subject for work on germination biology, cultivation and ornamental selection. The Sudan grass is a plain, hard-working subject of plant science, studied for fast growth and fine forage value. Little about its garden performance is mysterious; it has been grown and observed for a very long time.
Uses & Benefits
Gardeners value Sudan Grass for its ornamental character, and the plant also fits naturally into herb, vegetable and cutting gardens. The Sudan grass is a fast, generous crop of warm-season fields. Tall, leafy plant is cut green for stock or made into hay and silage, giving fine bulk of feed through summer months, and it is a dependable, hard-working forage crop of warm regions. Deep roots also help soil, and plant is a fine, quick cover for worn fields. Getting it going is easy; keeping it going is easier still.
Sorghum is a gluten-free, drought-proof grain rich in polyphenols, feeding half a billion people and yielding syrup, forage and biofuel.
Growing from Seed
Seed is the natural starting point for Sudan Grass, and the process is uncomplicated. Scatter the seed evenly over a loose seed compost, cover to no more than its own depth, and keep the pot moist and bright. Move strong seedlings into individual pots, keep them in good light, and set them out when the weather and their size agree.
Our Take
It is a solid representative of the Sorghum group, true to type from seed. Established seedlings need little beyond ordinary attention.
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