Calamagrostis × acutiflora 'Karl Foerster'
Calamagrostis × acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ in August 2013. Photo: SK Reid.
Summary
UC Davis is located in Davis, California, this site has a silty clay loam soil and plants are irrigated with potable water. More information about the field sites is located in the Nuts & Bolts section.
Karl Foerster feather reed grass proved itself a tough and beautiful ornamental whose only drawback is the downtime after cutting back typical of ornamental grasses. It also proved irresistible to rabbits in two sites, Orange and Ventura Counties. Size, flowering, and overall appearance increased incrementally with increased irrigation, but it must be noted that even at the lowest irrigation level, the average plant quality was still rated consistently above the acceptable or very good rating while receiving water only in July and September. By October, the statistical difference in size between treatments had gradually disappeared with each successive irrigation application. For this reason, this plant could be grown successfully on any of these levels of irrigation.
Basic Info
| Submitted by: | UC Davis Arboretum All-Stars |
| Site(s): | UC Davis |
| Trial Exposure: | Sun |
| Year evaluated: | 2013 |
| Height & Width after 2 years: | 2.75' x 3.5' |
| Reported Height & Width at maturity: | 4-6' x 2-3' |
| WUCOLS plant type: | G |
| Water Needs & WUCOLS Region: | Low - Region 2 |
Mean Overall Appearance rating: (1-5 Scale, 5 is highest) | 4.2 |
| Flowering Months: | May-October |
Growth and Quality Data
Click Here for Complete Data Set
Calamagrostis × acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ in the breeze October 2013. Photo: SK Reid.