Grasses, Sedges & Rushes
Showing 25–28 of 28 results
-
Pennisetum orientale Oriental fountain grass Z 5-10
Showy, white to pinkish inflorescences summer thru fall.
Showy, white to pinkish inflorescences summer thru fall. Richard Darke, grass guru, describes this as “One of the most striking hardy fountain grasses. Low growing, compact and exceptionally floriferous … Blooms over an unusually long period from late June through October”
Size: 2' x 2'
Care: sun in well-drained soil or moist well-drained soil. Deer resistant and drought tolerant.
Native: central & SW Asia
Awards: Elisabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden Great Plant PicksThe plant is named for its soft inflorescences; Latin penna and seta mean feather-bristle. This species collected before 1821.
-
Sesleria heufleriana Balkan Moor grass Z 4-9
Spike-like panicles of white (in very early spring) turning purple atop clumps of gray-blue blades
Spike-like panicles of white,in very early spring, turning purple, atop clumps of gray-blue blades
Size: 24” x 16”
Care: sun to part shade in well-drained soil
Native: open woodlands of EuropeCollected before 1878.
-
Sesleria nitida Nest Moor grass Z 5-8
Spike-like panicles of white turn purple atop mounds of gray-blue blades
OUT OF STOCK
In early spring, about the time Robins appear, spike-like panicles of white turn purple atop mounds of gray-blue blades
Size: 24”x16”
Care: sun to part shade in most any soil
Native: central and southern ItalyCollected before 1861.
-
Sporobolus heterolepsis Prairie dropseed Zone 3 – 9
Mound of graceful thinnest of grass blades
The description in the Chiltern Seeds catalog cannot be improved: “This is the most elegant and refined of the North American prairie grasses …the finest texture composed of the thinnest of thin, thread-like, glossy green blades,.. in autumn turning deep orange before fading to a light copper for the winter. In late summer the plants bear, on very slender stalks high above the foliage, unbelievably delicate, graceful flower panicles, excellent for cutting.”
Size: 2’ x 2’
Care: Full sun in well-drained soil
Native: from Canada in the north to Texas in the south, Wisconsin nativeSporobolos is Greek from sporo meaning seed and ballein meaning to cast forth because the seed readily falls from the flower (or dropseed, the common name). Ojibwa “Medicine Society” used roots to cure sores & “remove bile.”
