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| Category: Grass |
| Family: Poaceae (Gramineae) (Grasses) |
| Origin: Southeast US (North America) |
| Flower Color: Tan |
| Bloomtime: Spring/Summer |
| Synonyms: [Eragrostis elliotti, Hort.] |
| Height: 2-3 feet |
| Width: 2-3 feet |
| Exposure: Sun or Shade |
| Summer Dry: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: < 0 °F |
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Eragrostis chloromelas (Blue Lovegrass) - A nice clump-forming warm season grass with narrow powder-blue foliage that rises to about 18"-24" tall (to 3' with ample irrigation). Clumps spread outward slowly with short rhizomes. The 3 foot tall flowers stalks rise in mid to late spring, opening into a buff-colored haze of flowers that lasts into fall and winter. Plant in full sun to light shade in well-drained soil. Good in dry, sandy soil but can tolerate a fair amount of irrigation. Thought to be hardy to USDA 6 (-10° F). Good as a specimen plant or massed in a border planting with contrasting colored and textured foliage. Can be used in a natural lawn with only one mowing required in the spring - not tolerant of foot traffic. Attractive to birds and butterflies. This plant was thought to be Eragrostis elliottii native to southeastern U.S (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, North and South Carolina) and has been marked as such by many nurseries. It is more likely Eragrostis chloromelas, Eragrostis robusta, or E. trichophora. These South African species and the even more common Eragrostis curvula were introduced by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and/or the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for forage and stabilization purposes sometime in the early 1930's and have become naturalized in the southeastern states. It will be necessary to get new complete flowering and fruiting specimens to taxonomists with herbarium resources to get a final determination but for now we are calling this plant Eragrostis chloromelas to distinguish it from a selection made of the true native Eragrostis elliottii that has been named 'Tallahassee Sunset'.
This information about Eragrostis chloromelas displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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