BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Poa compressa | Canada Bluegrass 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Canada bluegrass is an introduced, perennial, cool-season, erect,
sod-forming grass.  Culms are solitary or loosely tufted, flattened, and
10 to 24 inches (25-60 cm) tall.  The inflorescence is a compressed
panicle [10,18,33]

Canada bluegrass has a "dense creeping root system" and "long rhizomes"
but does not form as dense a sod as Kentucky bluegrass (Poa
pratensis) [12,18,32].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Geophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Canada bluegrass reproduces by both seed and rhizomes [30].  There are
2.5 million cleaned seeds per pound (5.5 million/kg).  Seeds require
light for germination, and germinate best at temperatures fluctuating
between 59 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit (15 and 30 deg C).  Germinative
capacity is 75 to 80 percent [8].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Canada bluegrass is unable to compete with other grasses on good soils
and generally develops best on soils of low fertility or poor drainage
[12,25].  It has moderate drought and salinity tolerances but is not
shade tolerant [8,12,30].  It grows about anywhere Kentucky bluegrass
grows but only achieves dominance on soils that are too acid, droughty,
or nutrient-deficient for Kentucky bluegrass dominance [18].  It grows
on disturbed sites in innumerable habitats across North America.  In the
Pacific Northwest, Canada bluegrass is commonly found in association
with wheatgrasses (Agropyron spp.) and hairgrasses (Deshampsia spp.),
and often grows in pure stands on poor soils [30].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Obligate Initial Community Species

Canada bluegrass is an early colonizer of disturbed soils [18].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Although a cool-season species, Canada bluegrass matures later than
Kentucky bluegrass, and has little fall regrowth [18].

Flowering time in western states is as follows [6]:

Colorado - June to August
Montana - June to August
North Dakota - June to July
Wyoming - June to August

Related categories for Species: Poa compressa | Canada Bluegrass