Side-Oats Grama Grass (Mosquito Grass)

Mosquito Grass (Side-Oats Grama Grass) - Bouteloua gracilis.
It grows on open dry plains, often on the barren soils of the North American continent, on which this species occupies vast areas.
Low grassy plant 20-40 cm tall with flowers appearing from June to September.
This miniature grass blooms in extremely interesting spikelets arranged horizontally at the top of each flower stalk, they are like small, tiny brushes. When dissolved, they are intensely red, then bleach, brighten and become straw-coloured. Over time, the bump can reach 60 cm in diameter. It tolerates trampling very well. The leaves are narrow grey-green.

Location: this warm-growing, hummocking grass loves the sun and thrives in poor, dry soils.
Very winter-hardy, recommended for climatic regions Z3-Z9.
Propagation: easily propagated by seeds. Keep crops at +20°C (germination in less than two weeks). Gives controlled self-seeding.
Care: faded shoots from plants are removed in late autumn or early spring. Butelua needs specific soils. The poorer and poorer the soil, the better. It does not tolerate high humidity, so you need to select the driest areas.
Planted in the right place, bouteloua is really maintenance-free, and for many years. It does not need to be watered even in a strong prolonged drought and does not need to be fed. From time to time, plantings are trimmed and cleaned with a rake.
Use: the most spectacular use of this cereal is a spot near the path, path. It is even better to plant it in a decorative container on a stand, where you can see all the details of miniature flowers. It is sometimes used as a ground cover in dry areas to create a lawn in places where watering is insufficient.
On lawns, it can be mowed low for a denser coverage. It is best to cut bouteloua like flowering lawns - 1-2 times a year to a height of about 5 cm.

Bouteloua graceful is so original that it stands out from any other cereals. Its main distinguishing feature is horizontal spikelet inflorescences located at the top of each flowering shoot. Outwardly, they resemble tiny fluffy brushes, but that's not all: immediately after blooming, the spikelets are carmine-red, amazingly bright, then they brighten, changing their ruby colour to straw-golden tones. Flowering is long and spikelets of different colours can be observed simultaneously on plants, which adds to its attractiveness.
Winter hardiness is high, but at the same time the grass is thermophilic and photophilous.
An excellent plant for the now fashionable trend in landscape design is "Prairie Style". This is the creation of steppe landscapes that require minimal maintenance and lawns in dry areas with poor soils. However, bouteloua plants are low compact and quite appropriate in small gardens. It is placed in groups in landscape arrays, spots on lawns, along paths, in mixborders with cereal grasses, rock gardens and rockeries. Can be grown as a showy cereal in large containers and large pots. Bouteloua is very attractive up close - it is a plant for viewing by aesthetes. Good as a dried flower.




Bot. syn.: Bouteloua oligostachya (Nutt.), Chondrosum.