Disappointed in Big Blue standability, looking for options..

Ive got a stand of tall prairie that started out as a mixture of Big Blue, Indian and Switch that I restored in 2005. It has morphed into primarily a stand of Big Blue, and I’m disappointed in its standability over winter. It seems like the first snow, knocks it to its knees, and then it just continues to lay down even more thru our the course of the winter, leaving it with zero habitat unless youre a mouse.

Heres some pictures of it from last night..

I burned half of it off last night, and am looking for options in regards to converting it to switch. Can I drill switch right into the ashes, and expect at least a combination of grasses in two years, or do I have to knock it out and start from scratch.

Its approx 3 acres total.

Ive also got 3 acres of short grass/forbs that is doing nicely.

Its alright to be different.

Thanks for any help with the tall grass options..

Sorry, I am zero help with prairie grasses and such. I don’t have any experience with them.

Sorry I missed this thread almost a month now…

Try Cave-n-Rock switch grass.. It has good winter cover despite the snow. It has a stiffer stem than some other switch grasses. But I wouldn’t start from scratch. The switch grass takes longer than “big Blue” to establish. But once it does it has a gigantic root ball that goes very deep. Use the existing big blue for weed suppression and diversity in the grass. Might think of drilling in the cave-rock a couple of different springs to get it the population you desire. Eventually will out compete blue stem for sun, and crowd them out if you plant them dense enough. If thats what you want.

I think you would be happy with this variety. Mine strip of it is really nice.
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_PLANTMATERIALS/publications/mopmcrb11259.pdf

@91reddog