Gardening 101: Feather Reed Grass - Gardenista
Feather Reed Grass, Calamagrostis
A connoisseur of ornamental grasses may be able to identify a particular species at a glance.
The answer may lie in the characteristics of Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’, the most widely admired of all the many species (of which there are more than 250), cultivars, and hybrids in this plant family.
A “long wall” of Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ is a buffer around a swimming pool in a London garden (“the upright, airy grass also looks great well into the autumn and winter,” notes our contributor Clare Coulson).
Photograph by Clare Coulson.
” The flowers are first light pink and later turn golden tan. Even in winter snows and frost, this grass remains ornamental.”
Calamagrostis stricta. Hardy in USDA growing zones 3 and warmer, it prefers full sun and damp soil (it’s a favorite for wetlands gardens).
Photograph by Matt Lavin via Fickr.
Mix-and-match perennial grasses get along well on a slope; shown here are Mexican feather grass (Stipa), New Zealand wind grass, ‘Karl Foerster’ feather reed grass, and lavender in Joel Baluyot’s San Francisco garden, an entry in our 2017 Gardenista Considered Design Awards contest.
Photograph by Drew Avery via Flickr.
Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Overdam’. Perennial in USDA zones 4 to 9, ‘Overdam’ also prefers a sunny location.
Cheat Sheet
• For companion plants, consider the sorts of wildflower perennials that grow well on a prairie: black-eyed Susan, veronica, and coneflower mix well with feather reed grasses.
• Leave dried flowers in place until the end of January to add structure to a winter garden; cut back to encourage early spring growth.
Photograph by Claire Takacs.
Fountains of feathery grass dominate here in the Plume Garden, underpinned by Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’ and interspersed with Verbena bonariensis,” writes our contributor Kendra Wilson.
• Plant ornamental grasses in well-drained soil after tilling it to remove weeds (which are trickier to eliminate after grasses become established and provide camouflage for them). • In late winter, cut back last year’s growth to a height of six inches.
Keep It Alive