Perennial, warm season grass that is consumed by all grazing livestock. It is well adapted to shallow, droughty, infertile soil and provides forage in the summer and on sites where cool season forages do not produce well. It can be planted alone or in mixes with other warm season grasses.
APPLICATIONS: Purpletop is adapted to areas of the eastern United States with more than 30 inches of rainfall, from Maine to eastern Nebraska to eastern Texas to Florida. It is not common in northern New England or New York, especially on inland sites, where poor winter hardiness is a problem. Purpletop is adapted to soils that are well-drained to droughty, shallow and rocky, fertile to sterile. It is tolerant of road salt and often colonizes roadside sites, especially in Pennsylvania and south.
ESTABLISHMENT: Purpletop should be seeded in spring, when soil moisture and temperatures are conducive to germination. Seeding depth should be 1/4 inch. Ten to fifteen pounds PLS (pure live seed) per acre is sufficient for drill seeding’s. For broadcast seeding’s, the seeding rate should be 20 to 25 pounds PLS per acre.
DESCRIPTION: Bunchgrass with erect tufted culms. It is 35 to 75 inches tall. Leaf blades are flat, often less than 1/2 inch wide and 10 to 27 inches long, lax, smooth, and glossy green.
The leaf sheath is flattened near the base, keeled (has a central rib), and overlapping. The ligule (projection up from inside leaf sheath where sheath meets blade) is a ring of short hairs. The seed head is an open cluster, 8 to 14 inches long, spreading, pyramid shaped, usually purple, and sometimes nearly black.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.