Tall Manna Grass vs Bluebunch Wheatgrass - TreeTime.ca

Tall Manna Grass vs Bluebunch Wheatgrass

Glyceria grandis

Pseudoroegneria spicata (Agropyron spicatum)

CUSTOM GROW

CUSTOM GROW

Tall Manna Grass
Bluebunch Wheatgrass

Manna Grass and other waterside plants are an excellent way to prevent erosion and provide habitat and forage for animals. The difference is that Manna Grass looks better doing it! With distinctive purple grains at the top of its stalks, Manna Grass adds a splash of color to the waterside that most other aquatics can't offer.

Manna Grass is good for returning disturbed sites to nature and provides nourishment to many animals, except for cattle who find it toxic.

Bluebunch Wheatgrass is a native perennial bunchgrass common across prairies, foothills, and open woodlands. Longer-lived than many other grass species, it develops deep, fibrous roots that stabilize soils and make it drought-tolerant once established. It is a cool-season grass, growing most actively in spring and fall and slowing during the heat of summer.

This hardy grass provides excellent forage for deer, elk, and bighorn sheep, and is especially palatable to livestock. Its seeds feed birds and small mammals, while its bunching growth offers protective cover for ground-nesting birds such as sparrows and sage-grouse, as well as shelter for small mammals. Bluebunch Wheatgrass is well-suited to rangeland & prairie restoration, naturalization, and erosion control projects.

Tall Manna Grass Quick Facts

Bluebunch Wheatgrass Quick Facts

Zone: 1a
Zone: 3a
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Height: 0.6 m (2.0 ft)
Spread: 0.6 m (2.0 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: wet
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: slow
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Growth form: upright, clump-forming
Spreading: tillering - high, seeds - medium
Suckering: medium

Toxicity: toxic to cattle

Foliage: long thin leaves
Flowers: purple
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, PE
Native to: AB, BC, SK, YT
Other Names: american manna grass, reed manna grass