Finestem Needlegrass (Stipa Tenuissima Pony Tails) 100 seeds (#1426)

Fountain-shaped clumps of fine-textured leaves and puffy seed plumes makes the Mexican feather grass one of the most beautiful ornamental grasses for low-maintenance landscapes. This semi-evergreen perennial is native to the southwestern United States (Texas and New Mexico) to central Mexico, with an adjunct population in Argentina and Chile. Mexican feather grass grows in the open woods on slopes and rocky flats in well-drained soils.
This grass is semi-evergreen and grows in the cooler months when moisture is abundant. When summer heat and drought becomes extreme, the plant turns tan and enters dormancy. In some climates, growth is from spring to fall with the tan-colored foliage dormancy in the frosty winter months.
The green to pale silver-green, thread-like leaf blades are glossy and look like tufted clumps in great numbers. Anytime from early to late summer, upright stems bear clusters (panicles) of tiny silvery white flowers above the foliage. These flowers are wind pollinated and turn into feathery, soft-looking seed heads that turn tan and gold. Frost or drought kills the leaves, creating an architecturally pretty skeleton. Once soil moisture and proper temperatures coincide again, new leaf blades grow to renew the grass clump.
Grow Mexican feather grass in full sun and moderately fertile, well-drained soil. Wet soil causes rot and plant death, and pull back mulch to ensure the grass clump's crown doesn't remain damp. If planted in moist, very fertile garden soils, this grass can self-sow and become quite weedy. It does grow well in containers, however. Use Mexican feather grass in a meadow or rock garden design, as a companion to annual bedding plants or in massed groups in foundation beds or mixed borders. Cut back the dry, dead foliage either in early fall (in regions where summers are hot and dry and winters are mild and rainy) or late winter (where winters have freezes and summers are warm but rainy).
Information source: http://learn2grow.com/plants/stipa-tenuissima/
Approximately 100 seeds in 0.05g packet.

Genus - Stipa
Species - Tenuissima
Variety - Pony Tails
Common name - Finestem Needlegrass
Pre-Treatment - Not-required, but recommended
Hardiness zones - 6 - 10
Height - 0,50 - 0,70 m
Spread - 0,60 - 0,90 m
Plant type - Ornamental annual or perennial Grass
Exposure - Full Sun, Partial Sun
Growth rate - Medium
Soil PH - Acid, neutral, alkaline
Soil type - Moderately fertile, Clay, loam, sand
Water requirements - Average water, drought tolerant
Landscape uses - Bedding Plant, Foundation, Mixed Border, Rock Garden / Wall
Bloom season - June - July
Leaf / Flower color - Green, Yellow Green, Tan / Ivory

GERMINATION INSTRUCTIONS
Sow from March to May.
Optimum temperatures for germination - +20C (constant) and +20- +15C (alternating: 16 h +20C; 8 h +15C).Germination is highest in darkness.
Greatest germination of the most dormant seed occurred when seeds are pre-chilled (i.e. 2 to+4C for 1 month)
Sow seeds just below the soil surface and water.
Germination should take place within 2 weeks after stratification, but make sure that the compost does not dry out.
Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in early summer. The seed can also be sown outdoors in April. Division in spring. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions.