HLR Orchardgrass

HLR Orchardgrass is a blend of late maturing Barenbrug orchardgrass varieties that are very winter hardy, with excellent rust, drought and heat tolerances.
HLR makes a nice dense sward without the typical Orchardgrass ‘clumps’, making HLR an excellent choice for hay. The absence of clumps also makes HLR a perfect orchardgrass for pastures. HLR has shown real high digestibility and protein figures on forage samples. Its primary use is in the cold, upper Midwest and in the Northeast of the United States.

If managed well, HLR can produce over 7 tons of dry matter per acre. Orchardgrass is a cool season grass that is valuable on light textured soils due to its outstanding drought-tolerance and is also well adapted to other soils and environmental conditions.
Orchardgrass is a very persistent grass and reproduces by seeds and tiller formation with the ability to head out quickly and fill in a field very well over time.

Establishment

Plant HLR at a 1/4″ depth in the spring or early fall.
Orchardgrass takes a year or more to reach its full production potential. Plant in a prepared, firm seedbed, seeding with a Brillion-type seeder, or by broadcast and cultipack. DON’T PLANT TOO DEEP- planting depth of 1/8-1/4″ is best. No-till is only recommended when a herbicide is used to sufficiently kill or retard the existing stand. A minimum pH of 6.0 is best. Profit Orchardgrass should initially be cut or grazed leaving a 4-6″ stand the first cutting, the first year, to insure better persistance and regowth. Because orchardgrass pastures are slower to establish than traditional ryegrass pastures, grazing management following sowing is crucial to successful establishment of the stand. Establishment under ideal growing conditions could be 6-7 weeks for a Spring sowing and 10-12 weeks for an Autumn sowing. In a pure Orchardgrass stand, the first grazing should be brief and preferably by young stock. An application of nitrogen, 25-30 units/acre 4-6 weeks after sowing promotes tillering without damage to the young stand. Once established, orchardgrass should be grazed or cut leaving a 3-4″ residual.

Management

Orchardgrass takes a year or more to reach its full production potential. No-till is only recommended when a herbicide is used to sufficiently kill or retard the existing stand. A minimum pH of 6.0 is best. Profit Orchardgrass should initially be cut or grazed leaving a 4-6″ stand the first cutting, the first year, to insure better persistance and regowth. Because orchardgrass pastures are slower to establish than traditional ryegrass pastures, grazing management following sowing is crucial to successful establishment of the stand. Establishment under ideal growing conditions could be 6-7 weeks for a Spring sowing and 10-12 weeks for an Autumn sowing. In a pure Orchardgrass stand, the first grazing should be brief and preferably by young stock. An application of nitrogen, 25-30 units/acre 4-6 weeks after sowing promotes tillering without damage to the young stand. Once established, orchardgrass should be grazed or cut leaving a 3-4″

Back to Orchardgrass