Blue Wild Rye

Year-round

Blue wild rye is a native bunchgrass that does well in the Portland area's wet winters and dry summers. It grows in sun or part shade, handles a wide range of soils, and needs almost no upkeep once it settles in.

• It grows well in full sun or part shade, and handles soil that goes soggy in winter and bone dry in summer, everywhere except the lowest, wettest spot in a yard.
• This is a native prairie grass in the Willamette Valley, used by local conservation districts to restore oak savanna and prairie habitat here.
• It grows as a tidy clump rather than a runner, and sends up seed heads three to five feet tall by early summer.
• Water it regularly through its first one to two summers, after that it can get through Portland's dry season with little or no help from you.
• It's in the wildrye group that woodland skipper butterflies use to lay eggs and feed their caterpillars.

Fall

Fall is prime planting season for blue wild rye in the Willamette Valley once the rain comes back, and it's also when you cut the old growth back for a tidy winter look.

• Fall, once the rain returns, is a good time to plant from seed or containers here, the seed needs no special treatment to sprout.
• Cut the whole clump back to about four to six inches, or all the way to the ground, in late fall once it's gone dormant for the year.
• Fall is also a good window to divide a crowded clump if you didn't get to it in spring.
• Rake up the cut foliage and let the fall rain water everything in, it doesn't need fertilizer.

Cutting the dried grass back in late fall keeps the front yard looking tidy and HOA-friendly through winter instead of leaving a flopped, straw colored clump.

Winter

Winters here are wet and mild, so this grass mostly takes care of itself. Just make sure the crown isn't sitting in a spot that stays flooded.

• No watering needed, Portland's rainy season supplies plenty of moisture on its own.
• Avoid planting it in the lowest, soggiest part of the yard that stays flooded all winter, it prefers well drained ground even though it tolerates moist soil most of the year.
• The foliage can turn tan or beige and look dormant through the coldest months, that's normal and it greens back up in spring.
• If you missed the fall cutback, late winter just before new growth starts is your last good window to cut the old growth back.

A tan, dormant looking clump through winter is expected for this grass, not a dead or neglected patch, and it still reads as a low key, HOA-friendly planting.

Spring

Spring is a good window in Portland to plant new blue wild rye or split up a crowded clump, and to clean up any leftover winter foliage.

• Spring, along with fall, is the best time to plant new starts or divide an overcrowded clump into smaller pieces.
• Space new plants about a foot to a foot and a half apart so they have room to fill in.
• Trim away any brown or frost damaged blades left over from winter once new blue green growth shows up.
• Portland's spring rain usually covers watering for new plantings, but give them a soak if you hit a dry stretch.

Summer

Portland summers are dry, and once blue wild rye's roots are established it rides out the dry spell on its own.

• After the first one to two summers, established plants need only occasional deep watering during dry stretches, often none at all.
• It's normal for the grass to fade to a straw color or go summer dormant when things dry out, that's the plant handling drought, not a sign of trouble.
• First year plantings still need regular water through their first summer to get roots down.
• Seed heads ripen in early to mid summer, and birds and small mammals feed on the seed.