GrassSpecimenRain gardenDeer resistantWinter interestFast growing

Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass

Calamagrostis x acutiflora

A crisp, upright grass whose plumes open pinkish-purple in early summer, ripen to golden tan and stand through winter, a favourite for narrow spaces and massing. It takes clay and wet soil, and deer leave it alone. It's sterile, so it won't self-seed. In shade it flops, and long hot, wet spells can bring rust.

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Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass: whole plant — Photo: ИринаЯ, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Mature size: 4 × 1.5 ft; 1.2 × 0.4 m, tall × wide
Hardiness: Zones 5a–9a; USDA
Sun: Full sun
Water: Medium to wet
Blooms: Jun–Oct

Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass at its mature size

A mature Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass grows 3 to 5 feet tall and 1 to 1.5 feet wide.

Drawn to scale beside a 5 ft 9 in person. With VeraScape, you see it at this size in your own yard.

Typical mature size, unpruned. Sources: NC State Extension.

Through the year

What Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass looks like month by month in a typical zone 6–7 garden.

Dormant · Dec–Feb

Whole clump pale straw-beige, standing upright.

Below ground · Mar

Cut back to the ground.

In leaf · Apr–May

Upright fountain of narrow green leaves, no flower stalks yet.

In flower · Jun–Sep

Stiff vertical stalks with narrow buff wheat-tan plumes above green leaves.

Fall · Oct–Nov

Foliage turned golden tan, plumes straw-beige, still upright.

Photos

Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass: flowers — Flowers · Greg Goebel from Loveland CO, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass: detail — Detail · Photo by David J. Stang, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Growing Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass

Grows well in: The Northeast, the Midwest, the Plains and Mountain West, the Pacific Northwest, and California.
Growth rate: Fast
Good for: Specimen, rain garden, deer resistant, winter interest, and fast growing
Leaves: Dies back in winter
Native to: Garden hybrid

Spacing

VeraScape spaces plants so their grown canopies just touch. For Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass, that’s about 1.5 ft apart, center to center.

Place a row in your own yard and VeraScape spaces them at their mature width, so you can see whether they’ll crowd the walk.