Technical Stuff

Dormant Seeding

Dormant seeding is an excellent way to establish many species of grasses, wildflowers and turfgrasses. Dormant seeding is just what the title implies, seeding into soil that is too cold to germinate the seed, but instead the seed will lay dormant until spring when soil temps rise to the point where germination can take place.

Dormant seeding is very effective in establishing wildflowers and native grasses. The freeze/thaw cycle helps to break the dormancy of many native grasses and wildflowers. Some wildflowers have such a hard outer seed coat that overwintering in frozen soils help break that hard seed coat so that water can be absorbed into the seed and germination to take place.

What is PLS?

PLS stands for Pure Live Seed. It is a formula used to factor what is and what is not viable seed. More commonly used in specifying seeding rates for native seeds because of the inconsistant and irregular seed sizes, using PLS ensures that what is specified is acheived.

PLS is simply multiplying germination times purity. For example, if a certain lot of Little Bluestem has a germination percentage of 87% and purity of 90%, then the PLS percent would equate to 78.3% PLS. Simply put, for every pound of seed in this case, there is .78 lbs of viable seed and .22 pounds of non-viable seed, chaff and dirt.

Native grasses are usually sold on the basis of PLS. Because native grasses and wildflowers are generally lighter and fluffier, thus harder to clean.

Although a relative term, a price adjustment for selling the seed on a bulk basis is only a matter of multiplying the PLS percent times the PLS Price. So if a pound of Little Bluestem sold for $15.00 per PLS pound, that could equate to $11.75 per bulk pound, ($15.00/PLS Lb times 78.3%). So it is all relative.

Turf grass is sold on bulk basis, just because there is uniform sizes and turfgrasses are easier to clean than native grasses and wildflowers.

Just Remember....Germination times Purity equals PLS %.

United Seeds Inc sells all of their NATIVE SEEDS as PLS!!

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What is the Difference between Cool Season and Warm Season Grasses?

Good question! Essentially it comes down to when the vegetative growth occurs. Cool season grasses actively grow in the spring and fall months. Warm season grasses actively grow in the summer months. So why is this important? Well, knowing at what temperatures either will germinate and other things such as fertilizer and water requirements are also important. Knowing the proper times to seed is important in ensuring maximum germination.