Grass · Poaceae Draft — unreviewed
Karl Foerster feather reed grass
Calamagrostis × acutiflora‘Karl Foerster’
Strictly upright grass with early wheat-coloured plumes. Gives a strong vertical line from June through winter; sterile.
Size over time
Typical landscape size 1.2–1.8 m (4–6 ft) tall and 0.5–0.6 m (1–2 ft) wide; medium growth, about 3 years to maturity. Intermediate sizes use the planner’s growth curve (k = 0.25) from the #1 install size.
Design notes
- Cool-season: cut back in late winter before new growth.
- Less effective in hot, humid southern summers.
Regions
Native range: Garden hybrid of Eurasian species.
Not recorded as native to any of the three pilot regions.
Native status describes where the species occurs naturally. It is not a promise that it suits a particular garden; site conditions decide that.
Related plants
Blue grama
Bouteloua gracilis · Grass · 0.3–0.6 m (1–2 ft)
Hameln fountain grass
Cenchrus purpurascens 'Hameln' · Grass · 0.6–0.9 m (2–3 ft)
Northern sea oats
Chasmanthium latifolium · Grass · 0.6–1.2 m (2–4 ft)
Golden Japanese forest grass
Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' · Grass · 0.3–0.5 m (1 ft)
Morning Light maiden grass
Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light' · Grass · 1.2–1.5 m (4–5 ft)
Pink muhly grass
Muhlenbergia capillaris · Grass · 0.6–0.9 m (2–3 ft)
Plan with Karl Foerster feather reed grass
Place it in a design, check it against your zone, light and moisture, and see it at year three and year ten.