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Helictotrichon sempervirens

Also Known As

Blue Oat Grass

Plant type

perennial, grass / grass like

size

H: 2'-30"
W: 1'-30"

planting zones

4a-9b

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Helictotrichon sempervirens plant details

Helictotrichon sempervirens is a moderate-growing evergreen perennial grass (or grassy in appearance) with blue foliage. In fall and summer tan flowers emerge. Features glaucous and grassy texture. Drought tolerant once established. Prefers to be dry in summer. Does well in average and well-drained soil. A good option if you're seeking something verticillium wilt resistant.

CHARACTERISTICS OF Helictotrichon sempervirens

Plant type: perennial grass (or grassy in appearance)
Plant family: poaceae
Foliage: evergreen blue
Mature size: 1 FT - 30 IN - wide, 2 FT - 30 IN - tall
Flowers: tan blooms in fall and summer
Uses: border plant, container plant, rock garden, xeric, year round interest

GROWING CONDITIONS for Helictotrichon sempervirens

USDA Zones: 4a - 9b
Sun exposure: sun - mostly sun
Resistant to: deer, rabbit and snail / slug, verticillium wilt
Soil needs: average and well-drained

Nursery contributed plant descriptions

Zn 4. Clear blue-green foliage. Evergreen.

By: Little Prince of Oregon

This upright, clump-forming blue grass will be evergreen in moderate climates, but semi-evergreen in harsher climates. In colder climates, if the foliage does decline, cut it back to the ground in late winter. Panicles of bluish brown flowers appear in early summer, raised above the leaf blades. Growth Rate medium

By: Garden World

This superlative grass offers perfect clumps of dome-shaped intensely blue foliage that lasts all year providing great leaf texture and colour to the sunny border. In the summer elegant tan coloured flower spikes appear over the foliage. Also great as a specimen in pots or urns. Photo courtesy of Walters Gardens.

By: Phoenix Perennials and Specialty Plants Ltd.

This clumping, evergreen grass grows 2-3' tall with an equal spread and bears rich blue-silver foliage that delights the eye throughout the year. In spring slender flowering stalks arise bearing delicate nodding flowers that age to a warm wheat color by mid-summer. Though it seldom blooms in mild climates, blue oat grass is a favorite of many gardeners for the foliage alone. Useful as an accent plant in containers, borders, rock gardens, coastal gardens, or even on slopes, this is a plant that performs well in a myriad of settings. Plantings here on the Central Coast have done best with partial shade and moderate water. Hardy to below 0F. Eurasia.

By: Native Sons

One of the most marvelous of the middle-sized blue grasses (R.Grounds) forming a 2-3' tussock of spiky, attractively-blue leaves overtopped by showy arching flowerheads; not stoloniferous. Sun/Med

By: Forestfarm

Semievergreen. The best of the midsized, blue leaved grasses. Strictly clump forming, producing erect, silver-blue foliage to 2'. Sturdy inflorescences with seed heads similar to oats, appear in late spring, held more than 2' above the foliage and remain attractive through most of the summer.

By: Greer Gardens Inc.

Powdery blue-gray narrow blades are topped with buff-yellow 2' tall seed heads. An evergreen presence for the winter landscape.

By: Dancing Oaks Nursery

A medium-size, clump-forming grass with lovely blue-gray, fine-textured foliage. Airy flowers rise 2' above the leaves in late spring. Makes a stunning accent in a sunny border. Needs good drainage, especially in winter. Cool-season grass. AGM winner. GPP award.