Golden Blue-eyed Grass

Year-round

Golden blue-eyed grass is a small clumping perennial in the iris family, native to the San Francisco Bay Area's wet meadows and freshwater marsh edges, with grassy leaves and yellow star-shaped flowers.

• Plant in a spot that stays consistently moist, since this species comes from wetland and marsh-edge habitat
• Full sun works well near the coast and fog belt, part shade is better a few miles inland
• Works well in a rain garden, low spot, or an area that gets regular irrigation
• Divide congested clumps every couple of years to keep blooms strong
• Straplike leaves stay fairly low, under a foot, so it reads as a tidy front-border plant

Its neat, grassy habit and bright spring flowers make it a good HOA-friendly edging plant for a moist bed or rain garden along a front path.

Fall

As San Francisco's rainy season returns in October and November, this plant slows down and you can ease off supplemental watering.

• Cut back watering as fall rains take over the job
• Fall is a good time to divide overgrown clumps, replanting divisions right away
• Clear fading foliage to keep the bed looking neat through the wet months ahead
• Good window for adding new plants before the cool, wet winter settles in

Winter

San Francisco winters are mild and wet, rarely dropping to frost, so this plant stays low and semi-dormant rather than needing protection.

• No frost protection is typically needed in San Francisco's coastal climate
• Make sure the planting spot drains reasonably well during heavy winter rain, standing water in a garden bed can cause rot even for a wetland-native species
• Good season to divide and transplant while the plant is resting
• Leave some of the winter rain to do the watering for you

Spring

Spring is peak bloom for golden blue-eyed grass in San Francisco, with yellow flowers opening on and off through May and June.

• Keep soil evenly moist as bloom ramps up, especially if spring rain tapers off early
• Deadhead spent flower stems to keep the clump looking tidy and encourage more buds
• Watch for slugs and snails on new growth, common in San Francisco's damp spring gardens
• A light topdressing of compost at the base helps this moisture-loving species along

Summer

San Francisco summers are cool and dry, which is a mismatch for a plant that naturally grows in wet meadows, so this is the season it needs the most help from you.

• Water on a regular schedule since the fog belt's summer rainfall is close to zero
• Mulch around the base to slow evaporation between waterings
• Trim back any foliage that yellows or browns from summer dryness
• Full-sun coastal plantings dry out faster than part-shade inland ones, adjust watering accordingly

Year-round

Year-round care for golden blue-eyed grass around Seattle, WA: full sun and soil that stays medium to wet.

• It does best in full sun and can handle light shade.
• It prefers medium to wet soil and tolerates somewhat drier conditions.
• Calscape lists moderate water, up to once a week in summer once established, and says it grows in moist places.
• It forms a tuft of narrow, grass-like leaves 8 to 12 inches tall.
• It is winter hardy in USDA zones 8 to 10.
• Plants self-seed freely when conditions suit them.
• Bloom runs from May to June, and the flowers close by noon each day.

Its tidy grass-like tufts suit the front edge of a bed.