Marion' striate lespedeza has shown some ability to persist in Arkansas bermudagrass pastures, and sericea lespedeza has been successfully maintained in bahiagrass pastures in Mississippi. Lespedeza is more compatible with cool-season bunchgrasses like tall fescue or orchardgrass. When grown with these grasses, spring forage is likely to be mostly grass and summer forage will be mostly lespedeza. If lespedeza is crowded out by the grasses, it can be restored by disking the sod and overseeding with lespedeza every third year. Annual lespedeza is excellent feed for stocker cattle.
Annual lespedeza is also a good forage for dairy heifers and horses.
Sericea should not be allowed to become mature and coarse when pastured, or animals will not eat it readily. Sericea tests slightly lower in crude protein than annual lespedezas. Annual lespedeza grown for seed can be planted in rows or broadcast. Rows require less planting seed, allow cultivation, and are easier to rogue for off-type plants. However, plants grow closer to the ground in rows, making seed harder to harvest.