Woolgrass vs Bluebunch Wheatgrass - TreeTime.ca

Woolgrass vs Bluebunch Wheatgrass

Scirpus cyperinus

Pseudoroegneria spicata (Agropyron spicatum)

CUSTOM GROW

CUSTOM GROW

Woolgrass
Bluebunch Wheatgrass

Woolgrass is a native perennial sedge that forms dense clumps in wetlands, ditches, and along shorelines. Its ability to thrive in saturated soils and shallow water, combined with its spreading growth habit, makes it especially valuable for waterside & riparian plantings, erosion control, ecological restoration, and naturalization projects.

The distinctive spikelets are covered in brown woolly bristles, which is where it gets the name Woolgrass. It produces seeds that are eaten by waterfowl and small mammals, while its dense stems offer cover and nesting habitat. It grows most actively in spring and fall, slowing or going dormant in the summer heat.

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.

Woolgrass Quick Facts

Bluebunch Wheatgrass Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 3a
Height: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Height: 0.6 m (2.0 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Light: partial shade, 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, colony-forming
Growth form: upright, clump-forming
Spreading: rhizomes - medium
Spreading: tillering - high, seeds - medium


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


Native to: MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, PE
Native to: AB, BC, SK, YT
Other Names: brown woolly sedge, common woolgrass, common woolly bulrush, cottongrass bulrush, marsh bulrush, wool grass