Garden Forwardgrass
Feather reed grass
Calamagrostis x acutiflora
Growing guidance
Horticultural figures below are practitioner estimates for planning, pending expert review. The botanical record further down is sourced and verifiable.
Current-climate suitability
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Future-climate resilience
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Sun
Full sun
Soil moisture
average, moisture-retentive
Heat tolerance
Up to about 40°C
Cold tolerance
Down to about -35°C
Waterlogging tolerance
4/5
Drought tolerance
3/5
Mature size
1.2–1.8 m tall, 0.6 m spread
Seasonal interest
Summer to winter · Buff
Maintenance
low
Wildlife supported
General wildlife value 3/5 (verified species relationships are shown only where structured data exists)
Known risks or warnings
Cut back hard in late winter before new growth.
Toxicity: none
Verified botanical record
- Accepted scientific name
- Calamagrostis × acutiflora (Schrad.) DC.
- Family
- Poaceae (Poales)
- Rank and status
- species · accepted
- GBIF record
- Taxon 4127011
Calamagrostis × acutiflora, called feather reed-grass, is a naturally occurring hybrid species of grass in the genus Calamagrostis, occasionally found in Europe and Asia. Its cultivar 'Karl Foerster' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. It is a hybrid of Calamagrostis arundinacea and Calamagrostis epigejos, both widespread Eurasian species.
Description from Wikipedia — Calamagrostis × acutiflora (CC BY-SA), shortened and unedited in substance.
Native status and geographic context
- United Kingdom: climate-suitable
- United States: climate-suitable
- Australia: climate-suitable
Native status is never inferred from climate similarity. Plants restricted or invasive in a jurisdiction are excluded from recommendations there.
Demonstration data. Climate, plant and retailer records shown here are realistic samples awaiting horticultural validation and live data connections.