Hancock's Perennial Forage Ryegrass Seed is more persistent than annual Ryegrass Seed, but less persistent in the midwest than other cool season grass species. Perennial Ryegrass can behave as an annual, short-lived perennial, or perennial, depending on environmental conditions. It resembles annual Ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.), although perennial Ryegrass has more leaves in lower parts of the plant canopy, its collar and blade are more narrow, and lemmas are awnless. Product Information Application or Use: Pasture, Cattle Forage, Livestock Grazing, Cover Crop, Erosion Control Germination Time: 7 - 10 days, under optimal conditions Growing Locations: Warm Season, Transition Zone, Cool Season Height: 1 - 3 feet Sunlight Requirements: 4+ hours Advantages: Highly nutritious hay or forage; quick germination and growth. When to Plant: Recommended planting time is fall and winter when night time temperatures are consistently below 65 degrees.   Product Detail Endophyte Free Lower growing Erosion control Sports fields, lawns and pastures Reducing soil erosion Fertile, well drained soils   Product Information Hancock's Perennial Forage Ryegrass Seed tillers more profusely but is lower growing than annual Ryegrass, and will not form a seed head in the seeding year. It is more susceptible to a summer slump than annual Ryegrass. Perennial Ryegrass will head early under dry conditions after the seeding year. Perennial Ryegrass seed is used for erosion control, sports, lawns, and pastures. In the United States, perennial ryegrass is used predominately for forage in the coastal northwest, irrigated intermountain valleys of the west, the midwest, and Northeast. Perennial Ryegrass is grown primarily for pasture and silage. It can be grown for hay in the pacific northwest, but typically will provide only one hay cutting, and little regrowth. It also is used for reducing soil erosion, recycling nutrients from manure and biosolids, wildlife feed, and turf. There are many important perennial Ryegrass varieties. All are reproduced by seed. Many types of Ryegrass exist, because most varieties do not self-pollinate but easily cross with other Lolium and Festuca species. Persistence of perennial and annual hybrids falls between that of annual and perennial varieties. As a result, these crosses are called intermediate, or short-rotation Ryegrasses. There are both diploid and tetraploid forage-type varieties. Tetraploids have fewer, but larger tillers with wider leaves, resulting in more open sods. Both the seed and seedlings of tetraploids are larger, but growth rate is greater for diploids. Tetraploids are less winter-hardy and less persistent than diploids. Including both forage and turf types, many varieties are listed in grass varieties of the United States. Information on varieties also is available from the Oregon Ryegrass Growers Seed Commission and through the Germplasm Resources Information Network. Perennial Ryegrass varieties are grouped into three maturity categories: early, intermediate, and late. These groupings are somewhat helpful, but there is substantial overlap among them. Perennial Ryegrass is best adapted to cool, moist climates where winter kill is not a problem. Its primary use for forage in the United States is in the pacific northwest. There also is considerable use in irrigated intermountain valleys, the midwest, and the northeast. Ryegrass is a cool season variety, plant once nighttime temperatures are consistently 65 degrees and below. *Product packaging may appear different than what is pictured.