Effect of Seeding Date on Establishment of Native Grasses in Minnesota

In 1996 and 1997, native prairie grasses were seeded infield plots a the University of Minnesota's St. Paul campus. Seeding was done 10 times during each growing season, at two- to four-week intervals. Species included Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem), Bouteloua curtipendula (sideoats grama), Elymus canadensis (Canada wildrye), and Bromus kalmii (Kalm's brome) a 'cool-season' and a 'warm-season' mix. Mixes with a higher percentage of cool-season grass seed performed better than mixes containing more warm-season grass seed. However, the cool-season mixes produced a very few worm-season grass plants.