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juicy oat grass , Helictotrichon sempervirens [ hel - lik - toh - TRY - kon , sem - per - VY - renz ] is a semi - evergreen , cool - season , hardy , and showy ornamental grass and has distinctive blue leaves which enhances the look of your garden .
hear with Ornamental grass
Belonging to the Poaceae fellowship , Helictotrichon sempervirens is aboriginal to southwest and primal European grassland .
The name helictotrichon sempervirens come from the Greek wordshelictoswhich means twisted andtrichoswhich means a hairsbreadth for the awn ’s twisted base .
The industrial plant type is wide cultivated as a perennial ornamental ground covering fire locoweed .
gardener roll in the hay the plants as it is also the recipient of the prestigious Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society .
It is a hardy plant case and is capable of handling temperature down to 0 ° degrees Fahrenheit ( -18 ° C ) .
Since the industrial plant has longer leave , they founder ever and move elegantly with the wind and provide visual pursuit to rock ‘n’ roll gardens .
The plant also has multiple option of utilization : you may use it as a exclusive accent plant ; sample it in a container , or grow it in lot .
In appearance , it is like to blue fescue grass ( Festuca Glauca ) but it is slightly big in size .
Helictotrichon sempervirens generally is known by the common name – down in the mouth oat gage .
A democratic cultivar is ‘ Sapphire ’ with deep blue foliage . It is also hump by its German name ‘ Saphirsprudel ’ .
Blue Oat Grass Care
Size & Growth
The gamy leaf colouring of this cool - season , lump - organize , repeated grass spring up in a mound of spikey forage and resemble the shape of a water fountain .
In most compositor’s case , the plant type will also resemble a porcupine - alike clump .
And while other plants may lose their beauty when they flop over , the grass is care for its clump - forming as it ready the garden look more vivacious .
Its long leaves typically grow up till 2′ to 3′ animal foot .
The mound of blue foliage consist of prickle of bluish - dark-brown flowers perfect for tote up elegance to the landscape .
These bloom with bluish tincture bout harvest gold in late summertime to autumn .
Most gardeners prefer aggregate plantings of the blue oat grass to increase the overall smell of their gardens .
It is also a less encroaching option for the landscape painting as it does n’t spread via stolons or rhizomes , like other recurrent smoke .
It is an easy - attention plant and reach the perfect tantrum as a container plant . It is evergreen in locations with mild wintertime .
Flowering and Fragrance
The bloom clock time of blue oat grass is somewhere between early summertime and late spring .
Tiny , blue - livid flowers first commence to look on seed heads of one - sided panicle in an oat - like cluster .
The blossom are around 4″ to 6″ inch improbable and have touchy , taper petals with thistle - like and spiky heart .
Throughout the fall , the blue oat pot maintain vibrant light-headed brown flower colouration .
The fall colouring gives a spectacular and eye - catching flavour to the flora .
Light & Temperature
Helictotrichon sempervirens is a cool - season , showy ornamental pasture and grow in the full sun .
While it may stick out wanton shade , it will not flower well in the absence seizure of the full sunlight .
Even though the industrial plant is well adapted to plenty of soil types , for the perfect steel blueish color , rise it in well - drained , unenriched alkaline stain in a sunny place .
The emergence rate of the plant will definitely increase if you pay tending to its water needs , soil type , and light requirements .
It is typically uprise in USDA plant hardiness zones 4 to 8 .
Watering and Feeding
The H2O needs of this low - maintenance plant range of mountains between dry and medium .
This is a drouth - tolerant flora and requires little care .
As such , the plant does n’t require even fecundation .
Soil & Transplanting
The blue oat grass grow well in well - drain soil .
This western Mediterranean native demand full sun and dry stain with good drainage for in force growth .
Grooming: Should Blue Oat Grass Be Cut Back?
low-spirited oat grass is a low - sustenance eatage but would require everyday trimming .
In late winter , cut back the old foliage of the clustering - forming grass to 3″-4″ before unexampled emergence begin to emerge .
In saltation , pull away the old all in leaves to keep a fresh look of the smoke .
How To Divide Blue Oat Helictotrichon
This cool season grass is propagated by seed in spring and by division in other spring or autumn .
When disperse by division , use a sharp tongue or a spade after digging up the female parent plant .
In the next yr , the flora should feel full-bodied growth in the growing time of year .
The separated plants are treat as a raw repeated grass plant and planted at a fresh location .
When develop from seeded player , set the fully ripe seeds of the plant life in damp grit in a pot and brood with foil .
To foreclose mold increment , remove the foil at least once a day until seeds sprout .
Helictotrichon Sempervirens Pest or Diseases
While the risque oat grass is not susceptible to pest attack , it can get rust , especially in humid climates .
In poorly debilitate and moist soils , the industrial plant is susceptible to crown rot .
Uses For Deer Resistant Blue Oat Grass
The promising blue color of this cervid resistant supergrass makes it a perfect add-on to stone garden .
The plant spread out slowly and is not consider invasive .
It grow as an accent plant , and looks great combined withblanket blossom ( Gaillardia),Russian sage ( Perovskia ) , orSedum ‘ Autumn Joy ’ . Many gardener prefer its use in aggregate plantings to add together more value to their landscape .
