Grasses, Sedges & Rushes
Showing 1–8 of 24 results
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Achnatherum calamagrostis Silver spike grass Z 5-8
graceful, tawny-silvery spikes on this clumping grass
Gorgeous, graceful, tawny-silvery spikes on this clumping grass from June all summer
Size: 36" x 36"
Care: sun in moist well-drained to well-drained soil
Native: Central & southern EuropeCollected before 1750
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Andropogon scoparium Little bluestem Z 5-9
Blue gray foliage turns plum orange in fall
Andropogon scoparium Little bluestem Z 5-9
Blue gray foliage turns plum orange in fall with wispy, feather-like seed headsSize: 18" x 12"
Care: full sun in well-drained soil. Drought tolerant.
Native: all No. America, Wisconsin nativeDiscovered by French plant hunter André Michaux (1746-1802) in America’s prairies. Comanche used it to relieve syphilitic sores. Lakota made soft wispy seed heads into liners for moccasins.
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Bouteloua gracilis syn. Bouteloua oligostachya Blue grama Z 4-9
Shortish grass with spikelets like fake eyelashes - very cute
One sided, horizontal, purple tinged spikelets in July-September, very unusual.
Size: 2' x 12"
Care: sun in dry to moist well-drained soil. Deer resistant.
Native: Manitoba & all US except SE & Pacific NW, Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: attracts butterfliesFor the Navajo this was a “life medicine” and an antidote to an overdose of “life medicine.” Also used to cure sore throats and cuts – chew on the root and blow on the cut. Navajo girls carried it in the Squaw Dance. Hopi made baskets from this grass. Zuni made brooms & hairbrushes from it. Several tribes ate this & made bedding for their animals from this. 1st collected for horticulture by Humboldt & Bonpland in early 1800’s.
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Briza media Quaking grass, Pearl grass, Didder, Totter, Dillies Z 4-8
Elegant inflorescences with dangling oat-like spikelets
Elegant inflorescences with dangling oat-like spikelets in May. Use for cut arrangements, fresh or dried
Size: 30” x 10”
Care: full sun to part shade in any soil. Deer resistant.
Native: Eurasia.In cultivation since at least mid 1700’s.
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Calamagrostis brachytricha Diamond grass, Feather reed grass
Arching foliage with gorgeous upright plumes
Arching foliage with gorgeous upright pale pink plumes September to November
Size: 4' x 2'
Care: sun to part shade in moist to moist well-drained soil. Deer resistant.
Native: East AsiaCollected before 1856.
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Calamagrostis x acutiflora”Karl Forester” Feather reed grass
Completely, reliably erect grass - winner perennial plant of year award 2001.
Completely, reliably erect grass.
Size: 3-5' x 2'
Care: sun to part shade in moist to moist well-drained soil. Cut back in late winter.
Awards: Perennial Plant Association Plant of the Year 2001This is a natural cross of Calamagrostis epigeos and Calamagrostis arundinacea, natives of Asia and Europe. German nurseryman Karl Forester’s (1874-1970) keen eye spotted this in the Hamburg Botanic Garden. He listed this in his nursery catalog in 1939. Under Nazi domination he risked it all by keeping Jewish friends & workers. After WW II his nursery was the only perennial supplier in East Germany. This grass sent from Denmark to the US in 1964.
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Carex comosa Longhair sedge, Bristly sedge Z 4-10
Ornamental dangling bottle brush spikes from May to August
Ornamental dangling bottle brush spikes from May to August
Size: 2-4’ x 2’
Care: Sun to part shade in wet to moist soil
Native: all of sub-Arctic No. America except western intermountain states and provinces and except Alaska.
Wildlife Value: food for caterpillars of several butterflies. Seeds provide food for wetland birdsRhizomes stabilize shorelines while plants give ducks cover and the seeds provide food. Good rain garden plant.
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Carex grayi Gray’s Sedge Z 3-8
Club-like maces in June through fall.
Flowers look like club-like maces in June to December. This one will make your friends & neighbors ask “what the heck is it?”
Size: 30" x 24"
Care: Full sun to part shade in moist soil
Native: Vermont west to Wisconsin, south to Georgia and MissouriCollected before 1880.
