Blue grama 'Blonde Ambition'
Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition' · Poaceae
Blonde seed heads float horizontally above the fine, blue-green leaves like tiny flags or eyelashes, from midsummer right through winter.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 2½ ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Mid July to mid October
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around blue grama 'Blonde Ambition'
The planner designed this bed around blue grama 'Blonde Ambition' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) naturalistic planting in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why blue grama 'Blonde Ambition' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Blue grama 'Blonde Ambition' × 1, cream
- 2 Sea thrift × 5, pink
- 3 Rock cress × 28, white
- 4 Clary sage × 4, lavender
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Pale purple coneflower × 5, pink
- 7 Star of Persia × 3, purple
- 8 Saffron crocus × 12, purple
Why this plant
- The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.
- Part of the matrix. The low fabric of grasses and groundcovers that the taller plants come up through.
- The only airy sprays. The others are globes, dense clusters, spires and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- In the middle. At 2½ ft it is seen over sea thrift (8 in) in front of it.
- One plant. Three or more is usual for a plant of this kind, and reads better.
- Fine leaf against bold. Clary sage is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- In flower for 15 weeks. From mid July to mid October.
- Fills a gap. For 8 of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
- Stands through winter. Left uncut, it holds its shape until March, when the perennials have gone.
Planned as a naturalistic planting: low grasses and groundcovers, the matrix, make up 55% of the planted ground. The bed is balanced: the left half carries 50% of the visual weight and the right half 50%. Not everything here depends on flower: silver sage earns its place with leaves.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 2 Good, 2 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where blue grama 'Blonde Ambition' goes in a border
At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium (24 in to 2½ ft). It is airy enough to see through, so it can also come forward and veil what is behind it.
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
The horizontal seed heads catch the light and move in the slightest breeze, and they stand through snow. One of the best grasses for dry gardens.
- Winter interest
- Dry, sunny borders and gravel gardens
- A soft, low-water grass
What to plant with blue grama 'Blonde Ambition'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Russian sage: in flower together for 10 weeks, from mid July; spires rising out of its mound; tall enough (4 ft) to stand behind it.
- Sedum 'Autumn Joy': in flower together for nine weeks, from mid August; bold leaves against its fine ones; happy in the same dry soil.
- Purple coneflower: in flower together for nine weeks, from mid July.
Questions about blue grama 'Blonde Ambition'
Does blue grama 'Blonde Ambition' need sun or shade?
Blue grama 'Blonde Ambition' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does blue grama 'Blonde Ambition' grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 9. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does blue grama 'Blonde Ambition' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid July to mid October. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Mid July to mid October |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Mid July to mid October |
| Zone 6 | Mid July to mid October |
| Zone 7 | Early July to mid October |
| Zone 8 | Early July to mid October |
| Zone 9 | Late June to mid October |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should blue grama 'Blonde Ambition' be planted?
24 in (60 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 2½ ft (75 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 2½ ft (75 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many blue grama 'Blonde Ambition' plants do I need?
At 24 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 3 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 6 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 10 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is blue grama 'Blonde Ambition' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat blue grama 'Blonde Ambition'?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What flowers after blue grama 'Blonde Ambition'?
Blue grama 'Blonde Ambition' is over by mid October. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Bodnant viburnum 'Dawn': from early November to late December, 10 ft tall.
- Common witch hazel: from mid October to late November, 15 ft tall.
What does blue grama 'Blonde Ambition' look like in winter?
Blue grama 'Blonde Ambition' turns the colour of straw and, left uncut, stands through the winter, with seed for the birds. Cut it down in late winter, before the new shoots come up.
Is blue grama 'Blonde Ambition' good for bees and butterflies?
Blue grama 'Blonde Ambition' is visited by songbirds.
It is native to the United States and Canada (this is a named variety of the native plant).
More Bouteloua
- Sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula
In these guides
- Plants that grow near black walnut
- Plants for slopes and banks
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Ornamental grasses under 3 feet
- Long-flowering plants: 12 weeks or more
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Grass
- Size
- 2½ ft (75 cm) tall, 2½ ft (75 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle, or further forward: it is airy enough to see through
- Flowers
- Mid July to mid October; airy sprays; cream
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; blue-green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Poaceae
- Comes from
- West and Central Canada to Mexico
- Attracts
- Songbirds
- Stands up to
- Drought, poor soil, black walnut, pollution, erosion
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.