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Gardening
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Great Design Plant: Blue Oat Grass
For soothing coolness in a garden or container, this evergreen grass is the low-maintenance and hardy choice to know
While brilliant spring and summer colors awaken landscapes, and fiery fall color is a seasonal spectacle, sometimes you just need to cool down. Let's cool down with blue — blue oat grass, a must-know low-maintenance pick for calming color year-round.
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| Botanical name: Helictotrichon sempervirens Common name: Blue oat grass USDA zones: 4 to 8; hardy to less than 0 degrees Fahrenheit (find your zone) Water requirement: Occasional; drought tolerant Light requirement: Full sun to light shade Mature size: 2 feet tall and wide Benefits and tolerances: Drought tolerant; deer resistant; can handle air pollution Seasonal interest: Evergreen in temperate climates; flowers in summer When to plant: Plant or divide in early spring |
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Distinguishing traits. Blue oat grass is spiky, spunky and blue — characteristics that invite comparisons to blue fescue.
From afar, its large clumps and projected flowers are commanding and regal, but up close they bend and sway in a soft way, with long blue-gray blades radiating out from the center.
A cool-season grass, blue oat grass thrives in mild temperatures but produces its strongest color in full sun. A towering crown of bluish-brown flowers projects about a foot above the foliage in summer, aging to a golden oat color in fall. And while the flowers create a spectacular show in summer, the pretty foliage is welcome in the garden all year.
From afar, its large clumps and projected flowers are commanding and regal, but up close they bend and sway in a soft way, with long blue-gray blades radiating out from the center.
A cool-season grass, blue oat grass thrives in mild temperatures but produces its strongest color in full sun. A towering crown of bluish-brown flowers projects about a foot above the foliage in summer, aging to a golden oat color in fall. And while the flowers create a spectacular show in summer, the pretty foliage is welcome in the garden all year.
| How to use it. This particular grass is a delight when massed, used in a container or used as an accent plant. The soft, fine evergreen foliage also creates a soft and soothing foundation for companion flowers. |
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| Planting notes. With a little maintenance, well-draining soil and deep, infrequent waterings, you should be able to grow blue oat grass with ease. It produces its best color when it's planted in full sun. In too much shade, the grass clump may flop over. Blue oat grass is considered evergreen, but in more extreme climates it may be considered semievergreen. Every spring and fall, pull out dead growth with your hands or comb it out with a metal rake. In harsher climates a late-winter or spring trim can help keep your blue oat grass looking its best. Do you use blue oat grass in your landscape? We'd love to see your photo in the Comments below. |
Comments
Dig Your Garden Landscape Design Nice pick Annie, I agree that Blue Oat Grass is a great choice...here it is with Lavender and Breath of Heaven providing a nice combo of colors and textures - more ideas:
by Dig Your Garden...
by Dig Your Garden...
Project: Plant Combinations - Northern...7 months ago · Like
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Ginkgo Leaf Studio We are using blue oat grass in our designs more often. Although bigger than blue fescue, we find that it is hardier and not such a rabbit magnet like fescue. These have only been in just over a year. 
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Ideabook published on Oct. 23, 2012.
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