Slender Wheatgrass vs Prairie Crocus - TreeTime.ca

Slender Wheatgrass vs Prairie Crocus

Elymus trachycaulus

Pulsatilla nuttalliana (Anemone patens)

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Slender Wheatgrass
Prairie Crocus

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.

Prairie Crocus is a native perennial wildflower that is often considered one of the first signs of spring. The flowers can range from purple, pale blue, to white and often appear before the snow has fully melted. It can bloom a month earlier than other spring flowers, providing an early source of pollen for a variety of pollinators.

The plant is covered in woolly white hairs, including the finely divided leaves, giving them a silvery appearance. Prairie Crocus leaves do not fully emerge until after it has bloomed. The spent blooms transform into fluffy, feathery seed heads. During the hot summer months, the Prairie Crocus goes dormant and will repeat its life cycle the following spring.

The Prairie Crocus is Manitoba’s provincial flower.

As a perennial, it dies back to the crown each winter, it will regrow from the base in the spring. Avoid disturbing the crown during late winter to ensure healthy growth the following season.

Slender Wheatgrass Quick Facts

Prairie Crocus Quick Facts

Zone: 1b
Zone: 1b
Height: 0.8 m (2.5 ft)
Height: 0.2 m (0.5 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Spread: 0.2 m (0.5 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: full sun
Moisture: any
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: fast
Life span: short
Life span: short
Growth form: upright, clump-forming
Growth form: low growing, clump-forming
Spreading: tillering - high, seeds - medium
Spreading: seeds - medium, rhizomes - low


Toxicity: all parts toxic if eaten, sap can irritate skin
Foliage: fuzzy, finely divided leaves
Flowers: pale purple, cup-shaped
Bloom time: early spring
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, MB, ON, YT, NT, NU
Other Names: slender wildrye, western wheatgrass
Other Names: american pasqueflower, crocus anemone, pasqueflower, prairie pasqueflower, prairie smoke