Elymus hystrix

Fringed by long, narrow points, bottlebrush grass’s striking seedhead offers an alternative to showy flowers as an ornamental focus of the native plants garden. The seedhead forms at the top of the plant early in the summer, offering visual interest at a time when few wildflowers are blooming in the shady zones where this grass grows. Bottlebrush grass fits the definition of a bunchgrass, which is a grass that forms bunches or tufts but lacks horizontal rooting stems and therefore has limited spread. Due to this growth habit, bottlebrush grass coexists well with other plants in the garden and tends not to outcompete wildflowers - a risk posed by some, usually sod-forming grasses.

Another positive aspect of bottlebrush grass’s growth is that it sprouts relatively early in the year. This native of NE Ohio forests grows primarily during the mild temperatures of springtime, and is therefore categorized as a cool-season grass. In terms of wildlife value, insects such as leafhoppers consume various parts of bottlebrush grass, and white-footed mice eat the plant’s seed. Growing best in partial to full shade and soils of average to moderately dry moisture, bottlebrush grass adds a personality all its own to light-limited areas of the home landscape.

References: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8.

Photo by Milo Pyne.