canada wild rye
Elymus canadensis
USDA zones3 to 9
SunHandles full sun to partial shade
WaterHandles dry to moist soil
Size2 to 5 feet tall2 to 3 feet wide
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Habit
- Grass/grass-like
- Bloom season
- Spring, summer, autumn, winter
- Bloom color
- Greenish
- Foliage color
- Green
- Soil types
- Sand, loam, clay, chalk
- Soil pH
- Acid, alkaline, neutral
Garden uses
Attracts
Notes
Canada wild rye (Elymus canadensis) is a grass for meadow, rain garden, and naturalized plantings. It is hardy to USDA zone 3, or down to -40°F (-40°C). This plant likes full sun to part shade and dry to moist soil of most types. It establishes easily and gives quick cover with little care. Deer tend to pass it by. Heavy, whiskery seed heads nod in early fall, and birds eat the seeds.
Pairs well with Aromatic aster, Lanceleaf coreopsis, and Northern bayberry.
Native range
North America.