The variety Fairway is frequently used in dryland lawns. Ephraim is a persistent, drought tolerant variety selected for its slowly developing sodforming characteristics. Hycrest is a variety of hybrid crested wheatgrass obtained by crossing standard and fairway types. Similar to crested wheatgrass in appearance, Siberian wheatgrass has more narrow awnless heads than crested. It is drought resistant and well adapted to light droughty soils.
Varieties differ in the amount of pubescence on seedhead and leaves.
The pubescent varieties are reported to be more drought tolerant and form a sod more rapidly than intermediate varieties. Forage yield is similar among all varieties and types. Both types of intermediate wheatgrass are often included in seed mixtures for hay and pasture due to their ease of establishment and fast growth. Intermediate wheatgrass is recommended for rotations of three to four years of hay production. To maintain productivity, do not closely graze in the spring and do not graze past August 1.