Planting Sagebrush

[zrodwyo]

Hey all,

I’m looking at restoring sagebrush on my property. Anyone have any advice or things they learned about growing sagebrush? I have a lot of collected seeds just not sure if I should plant it over winter directly into the ground or sprout the plants in containers and transplant later.

Thanks

 

[seww]

My neighbor is pretty good at planting and what have you here in Idaho and according to him, sagebrush is very hard to transplant and get started.
But that's all I know to share...

 

[WCB]

I can't remember who I talked to but a biologist friend of one of my wildlife biologist friends said that transplanting is the way to go but is still very difficult to get established.

 

[Seth]

On mined land reclamation projects in NW CO, we saw a 15-20 year timeframe to establish good sagebrush stands. Definitely work to get it going.

 

[mtnrunner260]

Where are you located and what variety of sage?
Elevation, aspect annual precip?
How old is the collected seed?
What are you restoring from, bare dirt, cheatgrass etc?
Do you have ability to water? Chances of losses to browsing?

Sage brush is episodic (it needs a specific set of conditions to germinate) in that it doesn't establish every year. Lots of factors conspiring against it but I'd be happy to provide any insight I can.

 

[Fatcamp]

@Jimss

He is a plant guy.

 

[zrodwyo]

Where are you located and what variety of sage?
Elevation, aspect annual precip?
How old is the collected seed?
What are you restoring from, bare dirt, cheatgrass etc?
Do you have ability to water? Chances of losses to browsing?

Sage brush is episodic (it needs a specific set of conditions to germinate) in that it doesn't establish every year. Lots of factors conspiring against it but I'd be happy to provide any insight I can.

I’m in southern Wyoming and it’s locally collected seed about a year old. It’s semi bare dirt with some grasses (no cheat grass) and coming up. I could water some areas. Lots of deer browsing but I can keep them away from the sagebrush. Thanks for responding

 

[Phaseolus]

Here’s a USDA publication about seeding sagebrush. I’m a plant guy but my experience is more Phaseolus related although I’ve done a bit of reclamation work. Here’s my takeaway from reading this and a couple other publications. Late fall planting is best. Seeding depth of 1/16 of an inch is the depth you want and correct planting depth is critical. Compacting the soil so you have good seed/soil contact is important too. Give it a light boot print if you are hand planting to accomplish compaction. Good luck!

Seeding considerations in restoring big sagebrush habitat | US Forest Service Research and Development

www.fs.usda.gov

 

[JBrown1]

I’m in southern Wyoming and it’s locally collected seed about a year old.

Are you near the Green River area?

We moved away about five years ago, but visit SW Wyoming yearly. Last time we were down there I had to pick a bunch o sage to bring back to Alaska. The smell sure transports me right back to the high desert.