National Grass Trials

(Data/photos by TM Cade)

2013 Data and Photos for the National Ornamental Grass Trials from Texas State:

NOGT-2013 Data-Texas State

2013 was a typical season in Colorado, except for the 6 inches of rain we received in 7 days in September.  The grasses seemed to endure the deluge (see photos).  Attached is the data collected from the trials  in 2013.

NOGT-2013 CSU data

Grass Trials LWG final 2013

Copy of Oregon State University Perennial Grass Trials-1

The final data for the Ornamental Grass Trials for the Ohio site is now available. OGT.Ohio.2013.final.data
Almost all of the cultivars performed at a high rate during the entire 2013 season. We experienced a fairly normal Ohio season with up and down temperatures and rainfall. August was a little below normal in terms of average rainfall, however, the cultivars did not require supplemental irrigation. Fall colors are still showing nicely at this time.

‘Blue Heaven’TM Little Bluestem

‘Prairie Blues’ Little Bluestem

Minnesota Data Oct 2013

Click on the above link for preliminary 2013 data from Minnesota. Good growth on most cultivars this year;  ‘Carousel’ little bluestem shown below.

Warrior (left), Thundercloud (center) and Cloud 9 in Minnesota in late September. Thundercloud and Cloud 9 are just over 2 meters tall.

Most cultivars are quite healthy and thriving. The most glaring exceptions are S. scoparium ‘Jazz’, P. virgatum ‘Ruby Ribbons’, and P. virgatum ‘Hot Rod’, which have struggled to establish. Panicum cultivars are approaching peak, while the Schizachyrium cultivars are just beginning to flower. While it’s hard to select a best performer, ‘Warrior’ (pictured below) is one of the most uniform and consistent cultivars. Summer weather has been atypical, with rainfall exceeding 20” for June through August. 

The grasses that have survived in our South Florida location have had to withstand winter soil temperatures (Jan-March) averaging 80°F with only 0.70 inches of monthly rainfall. Spring soil temperatures averaged around 81°F with monthly rainfall of 6 to 10 inches.  The relative humidity for June and July averaged 81%, with 7 to 14 inches of rainfall.  We suspect that soil temperatures and moisture stress may have caused some of our causalities.    Despite our weather conditions, we still have some top performers.

Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’(160cmH x 130 cmW) 

No picture

Panicum virgatum ‘Thundercloud’(110cmH x60 cmW)                   

Panicum virgatum ‘Prairie Sky’ (76cmHx50 cmW) 

Schizachyrium scoparium ’The Blues’(20cmHx33cmW)

Panicum virgatum ’Cheyenne Sky’(60cmLx37cmW)  

Panicum virgatum ‘Hot Rod’(75cmLx50cmW)

Schizachyrium scoparium Minn Blue A ’Blue Heaven’ TM(20cmLx50cmW) 

Panicum virgatum ’Prairie Fire’(60cmLx28cmW)