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| Category: Grass |
| Family: Poaceae (Gramineae) (Grasses) |
| Origin: Japan (Asia) |
| Flower Color: NA |
| Bloomtime: Not Significant |
| Synonyms: [Imperata cylindrica 'Rubra'] |
| Height: 1-2 feet |
| Width: Spreading |
| Exposure: Full Sun |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Medium Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: <15° F |
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Imperata cylindrica var. koenigii 'Red Baron' (Blood Grass) - This is a slow spreading erect warm-season grass that can grow to 1 1/2 feet tall. The new growth emerges light green with red tips. By fall the entire blade is blood red. During the winter the grass goes dormant and the foliage changes to a copper color. It has not been observed to produce flowers and is only propagated vegetatively. Best in full sun with regular watering. In the shade the red colored foliage fades. This cultivar has been marketed as Imperata cylindrica 'Rubra' or 'Red Baron' but should more properly be listed as a cultivar of Imperata cylindrica var. koenigii (Retzius) T. Durand & Schinz, which would avoid confusion with other much more aggressive forms of Imperata. As Rick Darke notes in his Color Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses: "This red-leaved garden form has been well-known for more than a century in Japan (although not as 'Red Baron', a name coined by Kurt Bluemel for sales in the US), where it is usually grown in shallow containers as a companion plant to specimen bonsai. It spreads very slowly by shallow rhizomes." The species Imperata cylindrica, also called Cogongrass, is a federally regulated noxious weed and in California is a Q (Quarantine) rated weed, meaning it cannot be legally grown by nurseries in the state. Due to this cultivar's relation to this species, its sale and distribution is legally restricted in the US. There is an article about this written in 2018 on the USDA website at Weed Risk Assessment for Imperata cylindrica. Though we never observed this cultivar to be problematic in the time we grew it others elsewhere observed 'Red Baron' to revert to the green form to acquire the invasive characteristic of the tropical phase or even set seed, which potentially could also result in having seedlings that might also be invasive. As such this plants status as a noxious weed makes growing and selling it not advisable and also illegal. For this reason in 2003 we discontinued producing this grass, which we had been growing since first getting it in 1986 from "the Grassman", John Greenlee.
The information about Imperata cylindrica var. koenigii 'Red Baron' that is displayed on this web page is based on research conducted in our nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We will also include observations made about this plant as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We also incorporate comments that we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they share cultural information that aids others growing this plant.
Please note that after 46 years in business, San Marcos Growers will be discontinuing nursery operations by the end of 2025 and the property will be developed for affordable housing.
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