Eastern Colorado Seed, LLC

Orchardgrass

Orchardgrass is an old reliable standby in many parts of the U.S. It is more heat and drought tolerant than most cool season grasses, and thus produces more feed during the summer. Some of the older varieties, such as Potomac and Pennlate have given Orchardgrass a bad reputation for getting diseased in late summer, being clumpy, heading out too early in spring, and not being palatable. Our varieties are far more palatable than most of the older varieties, and also later heading!
When grazing a hay type Orchardgrass, be sure to leave at least 3 or 4 inch stubble or it will not persist more than a few years. Orchardgrass cannot be grazed as hard and as often as Ryegrass. Orchardgrass will do well in areas with than ideal fertility and moisture, but is not adapted for very wet areas.

Intensiv

Intensiv is a new release, European bred, orchardgrass from Barenbrug. It has fine leaves and is a healthy orchardgrass. Its heading date is about 3 to 4 days later than Baridana but is earlier than Baraula. We have had Intensiv in our test plots since 2002 and it is another impressive orchardgrass. Very winter-hardy and establishes well. Intensiv had the highest seedling vigor rating of 12 varieties in a University of Kentucky trial and was also one of the highest yielding.

Baridana

Baridana is a late maturing orchardgrass. It is a very winter-hardy variety with excellent rust resistance. Baridana has recently been placed on the national list in Canada. Baridana makes a nice dense sward with a few of the typical orchardgrass clumps. This makes Baridana a perfect orchardgrass for pastures. It scores hgih in digestibility and protein figures on forage samples.

Baraula

Baraula is a top-rated Orchardgrass in Europe. We are getting it from Europe on special demand for Alfalfa mixes. We think there is no other variety as late heading in the U.S.
In PA, Baraula was later heading than Satin. Late heading Orchardgrasses are usually higher quality and are more suited with Alfalfa. Baraula has very high quality, good yields, good disease resistance and drought resistance with good characteristics for grazing or hay. Its late heading will change the way farmers think about Orchardgrass. The seeding rate should be kept high because Baraula is rather slow to establish.

Cambria

An English bred variety form Spanish germplasm, Cambria is noted for its spreading growth habit and thus a denser sod and not as bunchy. It is good for upload moderate fertility areas and has good disease resistance and digestibility. Cambria is very palatable and dairy cows graze it in a mixture with ryegrass without problems. It's late maturing with fair winter-hardiness. This Orchardgrass has a more tillering type root system and works very well for grazing. It is not as much noted for its yield as its superior quality. Cambria has a low growth pattern, a high leaf count, and one of the higest rust resistance ratings.

Barlemas

Barlemas is a late-maturing orchardgrass. Barlemas is more winter-active which equates to earlier production in spring and later production in fall. It is an excellent choice for the transition zone and milder areas in the lower midwest and northeast. Barlemas is highly palatable and produces a dense, leafy sward. Barlemas is drought tolerant and produces forage later into the summer. Barlemas exhibits exceptional rust resistance. It is well-suited for grazing and hay production.

Barexcel

Barexcel is a new intermediate maturing variety from Barenbrug. It has dry matter production and good palatability, and persistence under grazing. With good tolerance to drought, it is highly suited for transition zone.