Okeene Oklahoma – Home of Whippet Brand Seed
Growing between one and three feet tall with a two foot spread, Purple Lovegrass is a native, warm season, perennial bunch grass that derives it name from the purple-colored flower heads it develops late in summer. Purple lovegrass grows in well-drained, infertile and very sandy soils in open conditions without shading or competition. While it is is drought tolerant it does require average soil moisture content.
Purple lovegrass develops in colonies and its active growth period begins in early spring and continues through into fall. Purple lovegrass can propogate slowly via rhizomes, seed (it will self-seed), or by dividing the clumps every few years. As the seed heads are somewhat weak they can break off easily and then be blown about by the wind. The foliage should be cut to the ground in early spring prior to any new growth appearing.
Purple love grass is a excellent ground cover and an ideal inclusion in pretty much any wildflower garden by adding irresistible textures. The light green summer foliage turns to a bronze-reddish color in the fall and the reddish bronze inflorescence provide soft, fluffy textured clouds. You can use it in perennial borders,mass plantings, or groundcover.
Livestock readily graze purple lovegrass during spring and early summer and in heavily grazed areas, deer dig up and eat the basal part of the stem during the winter. While purple lovegrass does add variety to livestock diets it’s rarely abundant enough to be a primary management species. It makes maximum production when no more than 50 percent of current year’s growth by weight is grazed off. A summer grazing deferment of at least 90 days improves plant vigor. This grass increases under controlled annual burning.
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Lorenz's OK Seeds, LLC
Okeene Oklahoma – Home of Whippet Brand Seed
511 W. Oklahoma
Okeene, OK 73763. Phone: 580-822-3655
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