Slender Wheatgrass vs Bluebunch Wheatgrass - TreeTime.ca

Slender Wheatgrass vs Bluebunch Wheatgrass

Elymus trachycaulus

Pseudoroegneria spicata (Agropyron spicatum)

CUSTOM GROW

CUSTOM GROW

Slender Wheatgrass
Bluebunch Wheatgrass

Slender Wheatgrass is a native perennial bunchgrass common across North America. It establishes quickly, making it effective for site recovery.

It produces upright seed heads that provide seasonal interest and seed for wildlife, and favoured for browsing by elk and sheep. Its seeds are eaten by birds and small mammals, and it provides cover for wildlife.

Slender Wheatgrass is among the first native grasses used for reclamation in western Canada and the U.S. It does exceptionally well in saline soils.

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.

Slender Wheatgrass Quick Facts

Bluebunch Wheatgrass Quick Facts

Zone: 1b
Zone: 3a
Height: 0.8 m (2.5 ft)
Height: 0.6 m (2.0 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: any
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: slow
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Growth form: upright, clump-forming
Growth form: upright, clump-forming
Spreading: tillering - high, seeds - medium
Spreading: tillering - high, seeds - medium


Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, NU, PE
Native to: AB, BC, SK, YT
Other Names: slender wildrye, western wheatgrass