Western Wheatgrass is a long-lived native cool-season grass and often the dominant grass of mixed-grass prairie. It is planted for palatable early-season forage, erosion control, and revegetating tough, salty, or alkaline ground. It is an aggressive sod-former, spreading by long, branched rhizomes that knit soil together and help it ride out drought. Its stems grow 1 to 3 feet tall, and it greens up early in spring and matures seed in mid to late summer. It does best on medium- to heavy-textured soils, including clays, and tolerates saline or alkali soils, poor drainage, high water tables, and spring flooding. It does poorly on sand. Cattle and sheep favor its new growth, and its fall regrowth cures well for winter grazing. Bison, elk, and deer feed on it, and ducks use it for nesting cover. Seedlings are slow to develop, so plant in very early spring or late fall and expect full stands in a few years.

Quick facts

• Height: 1–3 ft
• Sun: Full to Partial
• Soil moisture: Medium to Dry
• Life cycle: Perennial
• Notes: Cool-season, Rhizomatous, Sod-forming, Salt/alkali tolerant, Erosion control
• Native range: Native to Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, North Dakota, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio