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SWEETGRASS (Hierochloe odorata) grown
by our customers, around the United States, alphabetically by State.

SWEETGRASS STATES on this page = A-M

See SWEETGRASS STATES N-W here

Redwood City Seed Company, Box 361, Redwood City, CA 94064
(650) 325-7333. Photo credits noted, and are licensed for use on this web page from the copyright owners by Craig & Sue Dremann, and cannot be used or reproduced without written permission.

Grown in the forest near the house, plants are fenced to keep out the squirrels, rabbits, lemmings, moose, and the occasional bears that wandering through the property.

These are the Supershamanistic™ plants in 12 inch pots after 2 months in Scottsdale, AZ, where temps have been in the low 100s for most of their planting time. As you can see, they are in dappled sun most of the day, but get about 2 hours of full western sun late in the day. Have them on my drip system where they get about 1 to 2 quarts per day per plant. Saucers are about 3/4 filled after watering cycle, but dry by late afternoon. New stalks are now coming up outside the original plant plugs.

Just took these two photos [April, 2013] of my super sweet grass...remember last year the horses ate it and the dogs wallered in it...(top photo to refresh your memory). This is how it looks seven months later... and is about to get harvested. Amazing what bone meal, blood meal and fish fertilize can do...thanks again for this beautiful grass and the growing tips.

Here are the pictures of my grass growing in the planter box my husband built. As you can see with the yard stick the grass was over 25 inches long when we cut it, and I didn't use any type of system to keep the grass more exposed to the sun. Now I will see if I can get it to grow even longer by installing a support system like is described in the web-site.

Last weekend I gathered my first harvest and dried it using the freeze drying method instructions also provided on your website. Now my workroom smells wonderful with the sweetgrass in here and I will soon begin another basket with my own sweetgrass. See her first basket, here.

COLORADO in Arvada, grown by Stacy Parrish :

I received these plugs last May and was able to get two cuttings my first year. This picture was taken May 4. I would have gotten more cuttings, but our chickens got into the small fenced area twice and chomped them down to the ground.

Bad for the Sweetgrass, but YES to our eggs. Bright orange yolks and a flavor that was slightly smokey.

Our plot is planted on the east side of our home and gets about 4 hours of morning light and then is protected from the PM sun. We set a soaker hose on the plants. This summer we will try a plot in full sun and will up the water use.

Sasquatch, or as my tribe calls Matah Kagmi, watches over our plot. With each cutting we give a tobacco blessing and smudge it with a white sage bundle each full moon. Occasionally we place our rough diopside stone in our plot, if the weather patterns have been off, to better balance the energy.

FLORIDA in Gulf Breeze (near Pensacola) grown by David Kessel:

ILLINOIS grown by Dave Terlep:

22 plants two years after planting.

Grown in backyard. Dug out regular dirt and replaced with potting soil and added blood meal, bone meal, Alaskan Fish type fertilizer. I have some minor issues with local clover that likes to pop up, with purple blooms. Use sweetgrass for Native American ceremonies and as special gifts. It braids very nicely.

First season in container.

Hope your winter was as mild as ours. Just took the planter out of its winter digs on one of the warmest Spring days [late March 2012] in recent memory. Still haven't fertilized the grass yet, but it is taking off like crazy.

Above, August 2012, just before harvest, going to make braids for the Feast of the Hunter's Moon celebration in September.

MINNESOTA grown by Patrick Cheeseman:

Minnesota grown by W. A. Sinnen:

Beautiful plants grown by W. A. Sinnen, with pipestone pipe. The sweetgrass is loving life this year and is nearly ready for its first harvest. Thanks much for the growing advice and your cool web site.

Grown in pots and put in the ground spring 2014, with a border between the bed and the lawn.

Individual plant in pot in the ground

August 2014, beautiful thriving plants.

Here are some pictures from a few years ago. My son, Brett, is adopted and part Apache. He thought this would be a good project to make money and be in his heritage. We haven't sold any yet but enjoy giving or trading it away, and using it ourselves. We made little
braids for a Montana History class in Whitehall, MT.

We are just below the Continental Divide near Butte, MT. Two years ago I buried the planters (from your pattern) in my house garden which is south facing below the deck. The chickens found it to take dust baths because of it being south facing, dry, and soft. So the
sweetgrass got alternately dug up and buried. Not good.

So for last winter I took straw bales leftover from fall concrete work, and dirt scraped from the garage worksite, and made this deal to protect the sweetgrass planters over winter. I put plastic down (also leftover construction) on the grass because I wanted to kill it and put another garden there this spring. I did raise the planters up off the plastic so there would be drainage. The south facing side of this deal did not have straw bales, so any sunshine could hit the soil and planters. We are in a canyon so we don't get much sun to begin with.

In summer, we put the sweetgrass planters up on sawhorses or stands we built, because the first year we had trouble with grasshoppers at ground level. Somehow putting them up on stands made them safe from the hoppers. Also the blood meal or bone meal is very attractive to the dogs, and they would dig up the planters, ruining the sweetgrass.

We really like our sweetgrass plantation!

The last picture is the cemetary in Wyoming where Sacajawea has a headstone. We left obsidian and sweetgrass as an offering.

Pictures from May 2011, with the sweetgrass boxes, getting ready to get divided into new boxes.


July 2011, plants exploding out of the planter boxes.

July 2011 plants growing in boxes, cutting and drying and made into braids

Sweetgrass braids, some with the seedheads braided in.

Sweetgrass planters, with supports for leaves.

2012 made a big change in containers, into bath tubs:

I put straw bales around the bath tubs for winter; you can see them decomposing in the pictures. I have been watering by hand sprayer, but I am going to try attaching a piece of welded hog panel between the tubs and setting a water sprinkler with a timer on it. I am finding I don't even have to water everyday anymore.

I saw several lady bugs on the sweetgrass this morning, but no aphids. I meant to get a soaker hose on the plants this spring before they got tall, but it didn't happen. So when I cut the whole plantation then I will because the overhead watering seems to weigh
the blades down, smothering the lower grass.

I told Brett I would like to get his picture with the sweetgrass before he leaves for MCC (Mt. Conservation Corps) so we can document not only our sweetgrass growth but also his weed like growth! See the joy we get from our sweetgrass plantation?

I thinned out one tub and if I thin the other one it would be fun to see just how long it will grow. My goats got in and ate the sweetgrass down to ground level in June because the ground was dry and the electric fences didn't work. So now I am more careful about shutting the sweetgrass pen gate as insurance.

I thought last night I hadn't gotten into the tall grass but tonight I clipped in various places and this is all (lol) I got! Can you believe it? Last year it seemed 26 or 28 " was a big deal! I re-wrapped the sweetgrass in newspaper tonight before freezing; thanks for that reminder! Some of the pics are frozen grass and some fresh cut. I am thinking of just letting it grow some more.

Not much in the 40" range but I am so happy because it means I can grow it that long! This is the longest grass I have ever grown!

Here's an updated photo of Brett with sweetgrass! Also some braids from recent harvest and one strand was 38 inches long. Smells so good and color is so dark from freezing it I guess. Easy to braid and tie knot at end when still damp. Alaska fish fertilized tonight; the cool rains have really helped too because everything likes rain better than irrigation!

Update June 2013: 3 pics of new bed--the sweetgrass in the bath tubs is between 29 and 32 inches long from the ground to tip tonight. I wouldn't cut it at ground level, so take off an inch for cut length. I am trying to keep it going to cut around July 4th, so will let you know how I make out!

Update July 2013 - Record leaf is 41.5 inches long, producing a 37 inch long braid.

August 2014 update:

Lovely beds in 2014

Heart braids

We are looking for pictures for this web page, of our sweetgrass plants being grown in Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington DC, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, and Mississipi.

Call Craig at (650) 325-7333 if you have pictures of your sweetgrass plants for posting.