Orchardgrass

Orchardgrass is a very robust, drought, and shade tolerant grass. Orchardgrass was introduced into the US from Great Britain, but grows throughout the world in areas of moderate to high rainfall with moderate winters and warm summers. Growth starts early in the spring as daytime temperatures increase, new tiller formation decreases and increases again only after the days become shorter in the fall. Orchardgrass is more heat tolerant than Timothy, but less than tall fescue. However, orchardgrass is very winterhardy after establishment. It is aggressive in mixtures with other grasses, but we have developed varieties (such as Donata) that combine the ability to produce stem-free grass under dry conditions with less aggressiveness towards other grasses.