2026 Availability- Expected pickup date is late April to early May
Blue Wild Rye (Elymus glaucus) is a soft and graceful cool-season bunchgrass that brings soft structure and early-season vigor to naturalistic plantings. Slender blue-green blades form upright clumps that stay fresh through spring and early summer, sending up graceful seed spikes that add vertical texture and gentle movement in the breeze. Blue Wild Rye is adaptable to a range of conditions, including open woodlands to sunny borders, and helps stabilize soil with its fibrous root system. It will sometimes develop rhizomes as a part of this root system, but does not spread as aggressively as other rhizomatous grasses do. Blue Wildrye is a reliable foundation grass that knits plant communities together while adding beauty and texture. Use Blue Wild Rye as a groundcover in dappled or open areas underneath and between trees like aspens, oaks, or maples, in prairie or meadow plantings, or in naturalistic designs.
Blue Wild Rye
Irrigation Requirement: Low (1/2" every 10-14 days) to Moderate (1/2" every 7-10 days)
Mature Size: 1 - 5' tall and 10 - 12" wide
Spacing: 12" apart
Season: Cool-season grass
Hardiness Zone: 4 - 9
Light Requirement: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Deer Resistant: Yes
Salt Tolerant: No
Soils: Adaptable to sandy, loamy, or clay soils as long as they are well-drained.
Plants in the Elymus genus are known host plants for 4 species of pollinators. Blue Wild Rye also provides food and habitat for beneficial insects, birds, and small animals.