© The Dabney Nursery
Plant: Lightning Strike - Feather Reed Grass
Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Lightning Strike'
Size: 3 gal
Light
Bloom
More about this plant
Lightning Strike is a compact, upright feather reed grass with white and green variegated blades that stay striking from spring through winter. Green plumes appear in early summer and turn pink and purple before drying buff, standing about 4 feet tall in flower over a 3 foot clump. It takes full sun to partial shade, adapts to heavy clay, is deer resistant and drought tolerant once established, and suits borders, mass plantings and rain gardens.
- Full Sun
- Blooms in summer, fall
- Hardy in USDA zones 5-9
Plant description
Lightning Strike is a compact, upright feather reed grass with white and green variegated blades that stay striking from spring through winter. Green plumes appear in early summer and turn pink and purple before drying buff, standing about 4 feet tall in flower over a 3 foot clump. It takes full sun to partial shade, adapts to heavy clay, is deer resistant and drought tolerant once established, and suits borders, mass plantings and rain gardens.
- Flowers
- Green plumes emerge in early summer and turn pink and purple, then dry buff and stay attractive through most of winter.
- Foliage
- White and green variegated blades, narrow and flat, striking from spring through winter.
- Pruning
- Cut back in late winter or very early spring, before new growth emerges; divide mature clumps every few years.
- Native range
- Hybrid of two species native to Europe and Asia (Europe to the Russian Far East)
