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Wildflower Page 

Native Grass Page 

Native Grass Establishment (PDF) 

Pure Live Seed (PLS) Calculator

% PLS = % Purity x % Germination

A 50 pound bag of big bluestem that contains 85% purity and 95% germination is calculated as.......

.85 x .95 = .81 or 81% PLS

So the 50 pound bag of Big Bluestem will contain 40.5 pounds of Pure Live Seed, (.81 x 50).

In this case, to get one PLS pound of Big Bluestem, you will need 1.23 bulk pounds, (1/.81).

To make that bag of Big Bluestem 50 PLS pounds, you will need, 61.5 bulk pounds.

(1.23 x 50)

Why PLS?

Native grasses and wildflowers can be a challenge to clean because of the fluffiness of the seed. So separating the unwanted matter from the good seed is not always economical. PLS % is used in specifying mixes so that you are getting the correct amount of live seed. It is just a way to factor out the unwanted matter in native seed lots.

For example, if 3.5 PLS # of Little Bluestem is specified for a certain mix, and the PLS % is 79%, then to get 3.5 PLS # you would need 4.4 # of bulk seed.

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