Calmagrostis  

(cal-ah-mah-gros' tiss)

Common name: Feather Reed Grass

Family: Poaceae (Grass)

Height x width: 4-5' x 1-2'

Growth habit: upright, columnar to slightly arching

Growth rate, longevity: moderate, long lived-- 25 years or more

Foliage: to 18-36" long and 1/2" wide, linear, flat or channelled, dull to glossy green, hairless but often rough surface (scaberulous), good tan winter interest

Flowers: dense, branched but narrow panicles, mid to late summer, stiff and erect, 2-4' tall stems with 1-2' terminal inflorescence; soft appearance, silvery bronze to pale purple- or pink-bronze, fading to cream or pale brown

Hardiness: usually listed as zones 5 or 6 to 9, but usually grows well into zone 4; AHS heat zones vary with species

Soil: moist but tolerates most, thrives in permanently damp or fertile

Light: sun

Pests and Problems: none serious

Landscape habit, uses: massed, backs or borders or background for other perennials, upright effect, winter effect, living screens, wet to damp areas, wildflower meadows, dried flowers, low maintenance; one of best cool season grasses; combines well with bee balm, joe-pye weed, helen's flower, rudbeckia, interplanted with spring daffodils

Other interest: species occur throughout northern hemisphere, often in marshland and damp woodland; some species may be invasive in warm climates and ideal conditions; name from the Greek words for reed (kalmos) and a kind of grass (agrostis)

Other culture: leave foliage and flowers for winter effect, cut back in early spring near ground

Propagation: division in mid-spring once emerged

Species: about 250 species, of which 4 are more commonly found

• x acutiflora (ah-cute-i-floor' ah)-- Feather Reed Grass, cross of arundinacea x epigejos, leaves slightly glossy described as above; AHS heat zones 9-1; native to Europe, species of main cultivars including Perennial Plant of 2001 'Karl Foerster'--most commonly seen cv.
• arundinacea (air-un-di-naa' cee-ah)--Reed Grass, tufted to 4' tall, blue-green foliage turning brown in fall, creeping rhizomes, stems unbranched; AHS heat zones 9-3; native in Scandinavia, Europe and Asia Minor
• bracytricha (bra-key-tri' kah)--Feather Grass, forming dense tufts to 3' tall, short creeping rhizomes, branches very rough (scabrous); AHS heat zones 9-3; native to central and east Asia
• epigejos (ee-pi' gee-joes)-- Bush Grass, Wood Small-reed, to almost 6' tall, erect tufts, leaves rough (scabrous); native to Eurasia

(cultivar photos courtesy Missouri botanical gardens plantfinder)

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