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Achnatherum calamagrostis

Achnatherum calamagrostis
Photo: Daderot, Public domain

Achnatherum calamagrostis is a clump-forming ornamental perennial grass with blue-green leaves and long, silvery plumes, grown in gardens for its airy seedheads. It is a species in the grass family that tolerates dry, sunny sites and needs good drainage.

Family
Poaceae (Grass family)
Grows as
Grass
Light
Full sun
Water
Water moderately while establishing, then only in prolonged dry spells; avoid waterlogged soil.
Soil
Well-drained, average to poor soil, including gritty or sandy mixes.
Temperature
Hardy in cold winters; best in cool to warm temperate conditions, with protection needed only in very harsh climates.
How easy
Easy
Native range
Morocco, C. & S. Europe, C. Asia to Siberia and N. & C. China
Climate
temperate

About

Achnatherum calamagrostis (syn. Stipa calamagrostis)

is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae, known by the common names spear grass, needle grass, and silver spike grass. It is an ornamental grass native to the clearings in the mountains of central and southern Europe, which grows in mounds of blue-green leaves and long, silvery plumes. A. calamagrostis can grow up to 91 cm in height.

Other Achnatherum plants

Chinese Needlegrass · Roshevich's Achnatherum · Needlegrass

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Achnatherum calamagrostis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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