by far my fav. grass.

in a new seeding restoration, i have found that yr 3, LBS start to show some top growth and a few flowers here and there. always a pleasure to see cuz i know that more good things are bound to happen when LBS shows up.

froggy

Hi froggy!
Am glad I didn't have to wait 3 years to see top growth..that's a long time!! This is first year with clumps ranging between 10-12". The 2 BBS I added are somewhat bigger but arch over.
I don't know how my mother did it in ND, but her BBS ws plugs last year topped 5' and had their turkey feet the same season!! She did the same with LBS but they didn't do much last year...how weird and I gave her the seed!

Vera

I had gotten the impression from reading this forum that LBS and BBS were slow growers. My experience has been different. I winter sowed both this year and I have a nice clump of LBS about what Vera said, 10-12" tall, no stems. The BBS has made big arching clumps and there are several tall seed stems.
I will sow more this winter so I can start filling in.
I may also start dividing the clumps. The LBS is pretty dense. I love the blue color!

oogy,

are these in pots?

or right into soil outside?

froggy

Yup oogy I think it's because our ws plugs had a much sooner headstart...mine started top growth in March vs. the direct sown in June through the beginning of this month. I even started 2; one of each LBS & BBS indoors over the winter and they came up in 2 weeks..howvever for some reason these 2 are not as robust as the wintersown plugs. That's ok I just did that because I was dying to see something grow :)

Vera

I had a few old LBS seeds I sowed during the winter and transplanted this spring. It got to be 2.5 to 3 feet high this fall, and I've collected the seed from it. Nice color too.

Question: it's in a single bunch with many individuals. Can I divide/transplant the clump? Or do roots go too deep. Of course, I've got the new seed now and can sow it for next year if not.

Divide and replant next April, in first week or so, before any new growth. Just be sure to pack the soil densely around the transplants. Grasses don't like loose soil.

You might want to take out only one half of the original clump. If you leave it undisturbed in the ground, it will grow well next year.

Oogy...be careful what you wish for! Big Bluestem is quite the easy re-seeder in my yard...and can be a bit aggressive. Not hard to control...but still! April

How small of a clump will survive? I have some 5 year old plants that are available for division.
Bagger

Any stem with a base left in the ground will survive. New growth will come next spring from the stem base (the "sprig"). If you count the number of stems sticking up, you have the number of potential new plants that can be produced next spring.

If your plants are five years old, you should have 20 or more sprigs from each clump.

But divide the clumps in spring, before any new growth starts. Don't divide them now. Wait.

And when you plant the sprigs, be sure to pack the soil around the sprigs. Don't plant in fluffy, loose soil. They will die there. Use the heel of your boot to get things packed well. Then stand back and enjoy.

I gotta question....If the clumps are less than 2' would I still need to chop them back in spring....I'm assuming I would need to rid of last year's growth to make way for new growth on but not sure on the smaller inmature clumps?

Thanks

Vera

Vera
Any size clumps will grow better if you can burn them off. I have burned the clumps individually in a garden type setting. Burning definitely stimulates LBS.

Thanks PrairieLarkspur :)

What time of year have you burned your individual clumps? And how do you do it? Do you cut it back then burn? My area would be considered a garden type setting (12x60)and along the side of my home.
If I do this I would have to wait till next year...our rainy season just began.

Thanks

Vera

I think I have burned fall or spring, as long as they are dry and have not started to grow. If I do not burn, they do not seem to do as well. I do not cut them back, makes a nice little burning column, but if they are next to your house, you might want to be more careful.

Hey!
Just checking back here and saw your posts. Turns out my LBS put up several seed stalks this year. They are planted in the ground and the clump is a foot square maybe more. I will see about dividing the clump in the spring as you've suggested. Thanks! About burning, can I burn a single isolated clump? I never thought about it before, I assumed burning was out of the question, but I might be able to burn one clump without causing a fire hazard.

Sure you can. You may be suprised how unassuming the fire is. It'll probably just go *poof* and be over.

Oogy,

Burn the clump! Burn the clump! It really makes a small fire. Like lycopus said..."poof" I burned a miscanthus in my front yard last spring as an experiment. It did not like it at ALL. Boo hoo. But LBS kind of expects it, LOL! April

Ha ha ha!
Everyone on GW is an enabler!
Thanks for the encouragement.

Oogy

they sound like pyromaniacs to me !

Well, beavis and butthead was one of my favorite shows...

If you want to burn a clump a bit too near your house...this is what I did. I wet down the siding. I wet down the area around the clump. I also cut the clump down to about 8". I lit it, it went poof. It was done burning in 10 seconds. Nothingbut the clump burned! April

Okie dokie pyro-maniacs :)

I'll set fire to them all this fall!

Vera...evil grin...

Hi, Froggy, et al: I am totally sold on LBS for my small plots prairie "experiments." I planted a bunch on what we call blow-sand here in IN and have another clean plot to plant sometime this year. Should I go ahead and plant this early in the Spring or wait?
Also, what do you think about interseeding/plugging forbs later in LBS--that would work wouldn't it??

The only little blue-stem I have currently(that I can identify, that is)are plugs that I bought from a local native plant sale in the spring. I think you can do plugs whenever you get them. I would assume you do inter-seeding in the very late fall. If I am incorrect, someone here will let me (and you!) know! April.

I sow LBS in late April-early May here in TN. It's a warm season grass, and seems to do better for me when sown in warmer weather.

I burn mine in early March, not the fall. I like to leave the plant's superstructure up over the winter, because it protects the crown and because I like the way it looks. As far as introducing forbs, I put that seed down in the fall and it sprouts in the spring. Or, if you're doing a small patch, start the plants like Echinacea and put them in as plugs in the spring.

Soeur