Stipa gigantia - how long does it take to fully grow?

uppityradish · May 2018

I've managed to grow some from seed this year and am looking foward to creating a prairie bed. They're still quite small (still in 3in pots)....how long will I have to wait before they're fully grown?

Lizzie27 · June 2018

Umm, five years? Mine's now about 3-4ft across and looks spectacular at the moment, but they do take a while to get going. I bought mine in a 2 litre pot rather than a seed so you may have a longer wait. Sorry!

uppityradish · June 2018

Many thanks Lizzie....hmmm, looks like I'll be cultivating my patience as well, doesn't it!! Haha

Which is fine...I'll have plenty of time to play around with design (and other plants) in the meantime.

Fairygirl · June 2018

Yes - the bigger grassses can take quite a few years to get to full size, as Lizzie says, even when you start off with a decent sized plant.
\perhaps you could pop a few perennials around till they get going. Those can be removed at a later date. Or even some other annual plants or salad crops, which will stop the bed looking empty long term.

Hostafan1 · June 2018

You can get Molinia Karl Foerster and M. Transparent from seed to flowering in a single season if you're lucky, certainly by second year they'll all be flowerig. In my experience.
They too would look great in "prairie" planting.

uppityradish · June 2018

Thank you Fairygirl .... I've decided to grow as many plants from seed as I can (perennials and annuals) - the greenhouse is bursting at the seams!!! So, there'll be alot of 'filling in' & 'moving around' as my dream prairie evolves.

uppityradish · June 2018

Thank you for the suggestions Hostafan1 ....I'll definitely be adding these to the list. As well as the Stipa Gigantea I've also grown some Deschampsia cespitosa Calamagrotis brachytricha and Stipa tenuissima. It would be lovely to create something which undulates with varying height.

Stipa gigantia - how long does it take to fully grow?

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