Briza maxima
greater quaking grass
- Position: full sun
- Soil: any well-drained soil
- Rate of growth: fast
- Hardiness: hardy annual
Graceful, green locket-shaped flowers, tinged reddish-brown or purplish-grey, turning straw-coloured when ripe. This lovely annual ornamental grass is perfect for a sunny, well-drained border or wildflower garden where the lockets will rustle and shimmer in the slightest breeze. Originating from the Mediterranean it is larger and coarser than its perennial cousin, and given the right conditions it can self-seed prolifically. The flowers are great for adding to naturalised dried flower arrangements. - Growing instructions: Sow indoors February-March into pots or trays filled with seed compost. Sow direct April-May or for germination the following spring, sow in August-September. Sow 6mm deep in rows 30cm apart in well-cultivated soil with a fine tilth. Once germinated and seedlings are large enough to handle thin to 25cm spacing.
- Sow: February to March (under glass), or April to May or August to September (direct)
- Flowering: May to August