Author Archives: grasstalk

Final results from the National Grass Trials were published in HortTechnology in October 2017. 

Final results from the National Grass Trials were published in HortTechnology in October 2017.   

The first national grass trial has been completed and results were published in the October 2017 issue of HortTechnology.  Data from 2012-2015 can be found below for the 11 locations that participated in the trials.

The National Grass Trials at Colorado State University has attached the final 2015 data with both a full report and averaged data. All of the grasses did well this year, despite numerous adverse weather conditions such as extreme weather event … Continue reading →

National Grass Trials 2015 data Minnesota The 2015 growing season was long and almost perfect for Minnesota. The 17 switchgrass and 5 little bluestem in the National Grass Trails were fun to watch. Data is in the link above.

‘Cheyenne Sky’ switchgrass is a medium sized switch with a lot of purple foliage. It has been one of my favorites in the trials but this spring there is a lot of variation in the 4 plants we have. Thee … Continue reading →

Here is a link to the Comparison Table of 17 Panicum as of August 14, 2014 in Minnesota.

Here are the first flowers on switchgrass in 2014 in Minnesota: July 15: Rotstrahlbusch; Rehbraun; Shenandoah; and Heavy Metal, shown below.July 23: Cheyenne Sky; Prairie Fire; Dust Devil; Prairie Sky; Badlands and Hot Rod are all showing flowering tips. No … Continue reading →

Lots of seedlings coming in the grass trials this year. We used a pre-emergent herbicide, but it looks like our timing was late. Several cultivars seem to have heavy seed set. Look closely and you can see the seedlings just … Continue reading →