I'm new to this forum. I live in central ohio and want to plant several acres of prairie grasses that will be 2-4 ft high. Can anyone suggest specific grasses to use?
prairie grasses
Here are a couple references for you--the first one is just a reference, the 2nd one is actually a nursery that offers some things for sale (no idea if it's a good nursery to order from or not, they just came up on Google when I looked for Ohio native grasses, but at the very least you can get the names of some plants to look for)
http://ohioline.osu.edu/b865/b865_16.html
http://www.ohioprairienursery.com/
IMO the classic prairie grasses have to be andropogon gerardii (bit larger than you want though), panicum virgatum (ditto), schizachyrium scoparium, sorghastrum nutans, and sporobolus heterolepis. Those are all warm-season bunchgrasses. I think my favorite is the last, especially in fall with New England asters or blazing stars. Some links on sporobolus h. (prairie dropseed):
http://chicagowildernessmag.org/issues/summer2001/prairiedropseed.html
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=SPHE
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/~kenr/prairiephotos/morton_arboretum2.jpg
I will second Jsorens suggestion of Prairie Dropseed ... if it is appropriate for your site. I have it as a border between my lawn and a wildflower meadow planting. As the Chicago Wilderness site he linked says, it takes a long time to establish, and considerable attention, but mine is approaching self-sufficiency after its third season from nursery plants.
I have a specimen border with Switchgrass and Indiangrass in another area, as well. They have done exceptionally well, and give me a pleasant look from mid May until time to knock the old growth down in late February. It's a joy to watch the wild turkeys knocking down the 6 foot tall Indiangrass stems to get to the seeds in the fall.
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