eastern bottlebrush grass
Elymus hystrix
USDA zones3 to 8
SunHandles full sun to full shade
WaterHandles dry to moist soil
Size2.5 to 3 feet tall12 to 18 inches wide
- Habit
- Grass/grass-like
- Bloom season
- Summer, autumn
- Bloom color
- Green maturing to brown
- Foliage color
- Blue, gray/silver, green
- Soil types
- Sand, loam, clay, chalk
- Soil pH
- Acid, alkaline, neutral
Garden uses
Attracts
Notes
Eastern bottlebrush grass (Elymus hystrix) is a grass for woodland, 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 full shade and dry to moist soil of most types. Greenish-brown, bristly spikelets form a bottlebrush shape atop erect stems. It sits low on the menu for deer. Birds and butterflies visit it.
Pairs well with Sensitive fern, Royal fern, Aromatic aster, and Spanish bluebell.
Native range
Eastern-central United States.