Chionochloa rubra
Approx. 0.5 litre pot
About this cultivar:
Chionochloa rubra is a New Zealand native also known as red tussock grass. It is a leafy evergreen grass-like perennial which brings a graceful spreading form of thin, coppery leaves to the landscape. It forms soft, open graceful mounds that move in the slightest breeze. It is mostly admired for the colour of the leaves, which range from a metallic golden tan to a dramatic coppery red. In winter the leaves tend to be beige at their tips, with coppery tones at their bases. It has been award the RHS Award of Garden Merit.
- Position: Full sun, partial shade
- Soil: Almost any soil, grows well in Ballyrobert
- Flowers: June, July, August
- Other features: Grows well in Ballyrobert, Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit (RHS AGM)
- Hardiness: Fully hardy - grows well in Ballyrobert!
- Habit: Tufted, Clump forming
- Foliage: Evergreen
- Height: 75 - 120 cm (2.5 - 4 ft)
- Spread: 30 - 60 cm (1 - 2 ft)
- Time to full growth: 2 to 5 years
- Plant type: Herbaceous Perennial, Grass like
- Colour: Yellow, red, green
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Goes well with: Anything! We often pair it with Kniphofia or Iris.
About this genus:
Chionochloa is a genus of tussock grass in the Gramineae or true grasses (Poaceae) family, containing mainly species of grass endemic to New Zealand such as snow tussock and red tussock. Most of the 24 species in the genus grow in clumps, some up to 1.5 m tall. They often have attractively coloured leaves and tall stems bearing panicles of small flowering spikelets in summer.
The etymological root of the binomial name Chionochloa is derived from the Greek chiono meaning ‘snow’ and khloe meaning ‘young green shoots’.
Perhaps the toughest of all grasses it grows almost any where and in any place. Use as you like! We often pair it with Kniphofia or Iris.
