Other Names:  Albardin, Alvarde, Lygeum sparteum

Description:

This drought and salt tolerant grass is a perfect accent or groundcover for sunny, dry areas and sandy, coastal applications; unusual, feathery flowers sway in the breeze in spring and summer; great for rock gardens or containers

Ornamental Features

False Esparto Grass features unusual tan flowers with creamy white overtones rising above the foliage from mid spring to mid summer. Its attractive grassy leaves emerge green in spring, turning chartreuse in color with showy yellow variegation the rest of the year.

Landscape Attributes

False Esparto Grass is an herbaceous evergreen perennial grass with a ground-hugging habit of growth. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

False Esparto Grass is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

False Esparto Grass will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 5 feet. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an evegreen perennial, this plant will typically keep its form and foliage year-round.

This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist growing conditions, but will not tolerate any standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in poor soils, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is not originally from North America. It can be propagated by division.

False Esparto Grass is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.