Contract Grower Native Rangeland Grasses produced by ESRS
Calgary, Alberta, native plant producer, ESRS has been harvesting and producing native rangeland grasses as contract growers since 1985.
If you have a project that requires large quantities of native species we will either have it in our inventory or be able to produce it as a custom order. No order is too large!Alkali Bluegrass - Poa juncifolia
It has proven to be fairly easy to handle, and an excellent forage / reclamation species, is productive and drought and alkali tolerant. This species is a decreaser (it is preferred by cattle) and will compliment any seed mix in the aspen parkland, foothills, montane and even the prairies in moist areas.Alpine Bluegrass – Poa alpina
Small tufted plants with short broad leaves and open/pyramidal panicles. The species is valued for its ability to stabilize rocky soil and disturbances in foothills to alpine elevations and in boreal regions.Alpine Rough Fescue – Festuca altaica - PR
This is a much more rare part of the rough fescue complex of grasses in Alberta but is common in British Columbia and is a highly productive and competitive long living species. It is also recommended that this species be planted from plugs like the other rough fescue species. It sets seed only in years with conditions conducive to seed production and so access to seed can be difficult.Awned Wheatgrass - Agropyron trachycaulum var. unilaterale
This species is suited to both high and all but the lowest moisture areas and grows from the prairies to the foothills and aspen parkland and Boreal regions of Alberta. Our selection of awned wheatgrass has been for productivity of seed and currently we have several varied growth forms/varieties. Our small trials involve a variation that grows to half a meter tall and our larger trial has been on a variation that grows to 1.25m tall. This species is competitive, productive and has a fairly good drought tolerance.Basin Wilde Rye – Elymus piperi - PR
This species grows to around 2-3m tall and can yield a high biomass of fibre. Plants are robust, forming large clumps, and it is known to be a very long lived perennial. Giant wild rye is native to the southern Alberta. It grows on river terraces and sandy soils. It has deep roots capable of accessing deep soil moisture and is suitable for growth in areas used for cereal crops. This is a dryland species that is native throughout Alberta, British Columbia, and the North Western States.It is a C3 plant suitable for colder climates with adapted tolerance to harsh winters which many introduced species cannot handle. Current plot trials have maintained production of giant wild rye biomass and seed production without heavy fertilization for 21 years. It is one of the largest and most productive native grasses in Alberta, and with fertilization it is probable that this productivity can be increased, though is not required. The need for herbicides is limited to the first couple years of growth until the stand is established. After this it becomes extremely competitive due to vigorous growth and height of the plant.
Giant wild rye is a potential forage species and so research and development as a forage must progress. Silage usage and potential cover crops should be researched as well as winter grazing potential and economic feasibility of production for forage assessed.
Please direct production enquiries to Greenhouse@easternslopesrangelandseeds.com
or Call us at 1-403-637-2473