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Helictotrichon sempervirens

blue oat grass

AGM plants

AGM plants have been through a rigorous trial and assessment programme. They are:

  • Excellent for ordinary use in appropriate conditions
  • Available to buy
  • Of good constitution
  • Essentially stable in form & colour
  • Reasonably resistant to pests & diseases
© RHS 2002
RHS Plant Shop from £7.99 Sold by 38 nurseries

  • Other common names blue oat grass

  • Synonyms Avena candida
    Avena sempervirens

  • Family Poaceae

  • Genus Helictotrichon can be deciduous or evergreen grasses, forming compact tussocks of linear leaves, with erect or arching stems bearing panicles of flowering spikelets in summer

  • Details H. sempervirens is a dense tufted evergreen grass with rather rigid blue-grey leaves to 23cm in length. Small, straw-coloured spikelets are borne in large open panicles on erect stems to 1.4m in height

  • Plant range SW Europe

Characteristics

  • Foliage Evergreen

  • Habit Tufted

  • Hardiness

    Hardiness ratings

    All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets

    • H1a - Under glass all year (>15C)
    • H1b - Can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
    • H1c - Can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
    • H2 - Tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
    • H3 - Hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
    • H4 - Hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
    • H5 - Hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
    • H6 - Hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
    • H7 - Hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)

    H5

Colour

Sunlight

  • Full Sun

  • Aspect South-facing or North-facing or West-facing or East-facing

  • Exposure Exposed or Sheltered

Soil

  • Loam

    Loam

  • Chalk

    Chalk

  • Sand

    Sand

  • Clay

    Clay

  • MoistureWell-drained, Moist but well-drained

  • SoilLoam, Chalk, Sand, Clay

  • pHAlkaline, Neutral

Size

  • Ultimate height 1-1.5 metres

  • Ultimate spread 0.5-1 metres

  • Time to ultimate height 2-5 years

How to grow

Cultivation Grow in poor to moderately fertile, neutral to alkaline, well-drained soil

Propagation Propagate by division in mid-spring

Suggested planting locations and garden types Flower borders and beds Low Maintenance Architectural Coastal

How to care

Pruning Remove dead foliage and old flowered stems in spring

Pests Generally pest free

Diseases May be affected by a rust

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Helictotrichon sempervirens

blue oat grass

Buy from £7.99 at the RHS Plants Shop

Buy from £7.99 at the RHS Plants Shop

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