Sand lovegrass
Sand lovegrass (Eragrostis trichodes) establishes faster than almost any other native warm-season grass on sand, throwing up airy purple-tinged panicles by the end of the first season. It is used as a quick-cover component that holds sand while slower grasses fill in.
Why landowners plant sand lovegrass
- Rapid first-year establishment stabilizes sand while bluestems mature.
- Extremely high seed count per pound, so a fraction of a pound covers an acre.
- Highly palatable forage and a seed source for ground-feeding birds.
- Fine texture adds structural diversity in sandy CP25 seedings.
Site fit
Deep sands and sandy loams from Nebraska south into Texas. It is short-lived on heavy soils and will thin out on clays. Best used as a component, not a dominant, so it does not outcompete slower species.
Establishment
Tiny seed — surface-sow or plant no deeper than 1/8 inch and cultipack. Spring seeding into warm soil works well. Expect visible plants and seedheads in the first season.
Management
Because it is highly palatable, it is grazed out under heavy pressure. Defer grazing during establishment and rotate afterward. Fire-tolerant.
CRP practice fit
Quick-cover component in sandy native grass plantings.
Fine-textured diversity grass in sandy-site mixes.
Sand stabilization in SAFE habitat seedings.
Featured mixes with sand lovegrass
Pairs well with
Sand bluestem · Little bluestem · Prairie sandreed · Sideoats grama
Frequently asked questions
Very little — 0.25 to 1 PLS pound per acre. At roughly 1.5 million seeds per pound, even the low rate is a heavy seed drop.
It is relatively short-lived and thins as bluestems mature. That is by design: it holds sand during the vulnerable establishment years.