Feather reed grass 'Avalanche'
Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Avalanche' · Poaceae
Narrow leaves with a wide white stripe down the centre, and the same stiff, upright, wheat-coloured plumes as 'Karl Foerster'.
- Size
- 5 ft tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Mid June to early October
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Accent
A bed built around feather reed grass 'Avalanche'
The planner designed this bed around feather reed grass 'Avalanche' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) contemporary bed in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why feather reed grass 'Avalanche' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Feather reed grass 'Avalanche' × 3, tan
- 2 Stemless gentian × 6, blue
- 3 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 8, yellow
- 4 Swamp milkweed 'Ice Ballet' × 3, white
- 5 Inkberry 'Gem Box' × 1, dark green leaves
- 6 Turtlehead 'Hot Lips' × 3, pink
- 7 Hyacinth × 12, purple
Why this plant
- The only plumes. The others are trumpets, daisies, flat plates and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only tan. Tan sits between stronger colours and calms them.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does inkberry 'Gem Box'.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 5 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to turtlehead 'Hot Lips' (3 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one clump. A single spire is too slight to hold a place alone, so here the accent is a clump.
Why now
- In flower for 17 weeks. From mid June to early October.
- Closes the season. In its last week 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 contemporary bed: 35 of the 35 plants that stand in groups (100%) are set out in a pattern with their neighbours: a straight row, a triangle, or five like the five on a dice. Cool colours (blue, pink and purple) with yellow as the warm note, and tan and white to calm things between them. The front edge is finished with mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' and stemless gentian.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 3 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 feather reed grass 'Avalanche' goes in a border
At 5 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is tall (4 to 5 ft).
Its job: accent. An upright plant used singly, like a punctuation mark, and repeated at intervals to give the bed rhythm.
Whiter and brighter than 'Overdam', whose stripes run along the edges. The pale clump shows up from a distance, and the plumes stand through winter.
- A bright vertical accent
- Winter structure
- Massing in moist soil
What to plant with feather reed grass 'Avalanche'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Purple coneflower: in flower together for 11 weeks, from late June; low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.
- Joe Pye weed 'Little Joe': in flower together for seven weeks, from late July; bold leaves against its fine ones; happy in the same moist soil.
- Black-eyed Susan: in flower together for 11 weeks, from mid July; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about feather reed grass 'Avalanche'
Does feather reed grass 'Avalanche' need sun or shade?
Feather reed grass 'Avalanche' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does feather reed grass 'Avalanche' 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 feather reed grass 'Avalanche' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid June to early October. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Late June to early October |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Mid June to early October |
| Zone 6 | Mid June to early October |
| Zone 7 | Early June to early October |
| Zone 8 | Early June to early October |
| Zone 9 | Late May to early 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 feather reed grass 'Avalanche' be planted?
20 in (50 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 5 ft (150 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many feather reed grass 'Avalanche' plants do I need?
At 20 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 4 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 14 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one at a time, repeated along the bed at intervals; a slender one reads better as a clump of three.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is feather reed grass 'Avalanche' 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.
Is there a native plant like feather reed grass 'Avalanche'?
Feather reed grass 'Avalanche' comes from Europe to Russian Far East. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Switchgrass 'Northwind': the same job in a bed and the same colour; 4 in wider, flowers early August to early October.
- Indian grass: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 12 in taller, 4 in wider.
- Little bluestem 'Standing Ovation': the same job in a bed and the same colour; 20 in shorter, flowers early August to mid September.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat feather reed grass 'Avalanche'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after feather reed grass 'Avalanche'?
Feather reed grass 'Avalanche' is over by early October. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Tatarian aster 'Jindai': from early October to early November, 4 ft tall.
- Chrysanthemum 'Sheffield Pink': from late September to early November, 2½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Swamp sunflower: from late September to late October, 6½ ft tall.
What does feather reed grass 'Avalanche' look like in winter?
Feather reed grass 'Avalanche' 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 feather reed grass 'Avalanche' good for bees and butterflies?
Feather reed grass 'Avalanche' is visited by butterflies and songbirds.
More Calamagrostis
- Feather reed grass 'Karl Foerster' Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster'
- Feather reed grass 'Overdam' Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Overdam'
- Korean feather reed grass Calamagrostis brachytricha
In these guides
- Plants for wet soil and rain gardens
- Plants that grow near black walnut
- Plants for slopes and banks
- Rabbit-resistant plants
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Tall perennials and grasses for the back of a border
- 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
- 5 ft (150 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 20 in (50 cm) apart
- Height class
- Tall (4 to 5 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Mid June to early October; feathery plumes; tan, pink
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; variegated
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Poaceae
- Comes from
- Europe to Russian Far East
- Attracts
- Butterflies, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits, drought, wet 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.