Grasses - Reedgrass

Plant family

Grass family (Poaceae)

Season Overview

Details

Light requirement

Sunny

Water requirement

Dry

Soil

Light (sandy)

Nutrient requirement

Low

Dark germinator

Germination temperature

15 – 20 °C (Degrees Celsius)

Plant distance

60 cm

Row spacing

60 cm

Seeding depth

1 cm

Instructions

Description

The grasses, which grow perennially in dense clumps, have alternately arranged, narrow leaves on the stems, which consist of a protruding leaf blade and a leaf sheath adjacent to the stem. The leaves are strikingly rough on the upper side and, depending on the species and variety, are light green or reddish brown in color. They sprout early in spring and remain green for a long time. The lawn grass blooms from June to August. Depending on the variety, the grass, which grows in dense clumps, can reach a height of up to 120 cm when in flower. The panicle-shaped inflorescences then stand veil-like above the foliage or hang slightly over it and often turn straw yellow after flowering. There are around 40 species, of which the most commonly used for garden cultivation are the lawn meadow-grass (Deschampsia cespitosa), also known as woodland meadow-grass, and the wire-grass (Deschampsia flexuosa).

Growing tips

In our region, the common meadow-grass usually grows on alternately moist soils in meadows and forest clearings. The wiregrass prefers dry locations such as heaths and nutrient-poor grasslands. The plants like sunny to semi-shady light conditions and, despite the rather barren natural habitats, fresh to moist soil, which can also be loamy. Blackthorns are well suited to near-natural gardens, damp pond edges and woodland edges. Suitable companions are woodland edge perennials such as foxglove, columbine, brown cranesbill or ferns. The inflorescences are ideal for summer garden bouquets. The wiregrass can also be integrated well into heather gardens or prairie gardens. You should cut back the inflorescences in late winter. Older clumps can be cleaned out in spring so that the new stems have room to grow. The lawn cornice can be propagated in early spring by dividing the root ball. It also seeds itself.