It also was successfully planted into many acres of bluegrass pasture in central and northern Missouri. Lespedeza was used extensively in new seedings of orchardgrass or tall fescue in the late 1940s and 1950s. Growth habits Annual lespedezas will germinate in early spring but usually grow very little until June. Plants are drought resistant and respond well to favorable conditions. Dry conditions may reduce growth, but the plants recover quickly following summer rains.
Plants are more drought resistant in the seedling stage than alfalfa or clovers.
Severe late-spring freezes may kill some of the early germinating lespedeza plants, but the problem is not as bad as with clovers. Mature lespedeza plants are killed by the first hard frost in the fall. It will withstand heavy trampling and will produce some seed even under heavy grazing. The severity of grazing the companion grass will influence the rates at which nitrogen can be applied safely. However, most fertilizer applications containing more than 30 pounds of N per acre will reduce stands of lespedeza.