Inland Sea Oats Harvest Time Newsletter
Newsletter
Inland Sea Oats Harvest Time
It’s time to harvest one of my favorite plants. Inland sea oats seed are maturing and turning brown. The seed heads can be cut for attractive arrangements indoors, pulled off for planting elsewhere or left on the plants to completely mature and shatter. The last is OK, but all the seeds will germinate and there’ll be plants growing all over the place.
Inland Sea Oats
Chasmanthium latifolium
chas-MAN-thee-um lah-the-FOLE-ee-um
OTHER COMMON NAMES: Wild oats, wood oats, River oats, Flathead oats, Indian wood oats. Northern sea oats, Upland oats, Upland sea oats
Perennial grass for shade to part shade
Height 2-4’ Spread: Unlimited Spacing 2-3’
HARDINESS ZONE: 3 – 9 (Pennsylvania to Northern Mexico)
HABIT: Insignificant flowers, followed by very decorative pale tan seedpods. Can tolerate morning sun. Looks like dwarf bamboo.
CULTURE: Easy to grow in any soil in shady areas. In large areas, sow ½ – 2 lbs. of seed per thousand square feet. Stems with dry seed heads can be cut for long lasting dry flower arrangements. Cutting the seed heads off before they mature helps to prevent spreading.
USES: Great plant for erosion control in the shade. Can also adapt to sunny spots.
PROBLEMS: Spreads aggressively by seed and rhizomes, so be careful where you plant it.
VIDEO: Howard talks about Inland sea oats.
Join the Organic Club of America and receive Inland sea oats seed from Howard’s Garden.
