Leymus, Blue Lyme Grass, Sand Rye Grass 'Blue Dune'

This is a beautiful grass, but requires good judgement in placement. A small, semi-contained area at our cottage in the Indiana Dunes (z...Read Moreone 5) gave it it's favored environment and it took over quickly over 3-4 seasons. Ended up having to mostly pull it out because it got so compacted and dense - no room left for the trash cans!, but left a little, and we manage that annually. Took some home to my clay soil in Rochester, MN (4b) and there it is just what I want - small blue clumps that grow back every year, but that winter and clay keep under control. I could probably get bigger impact if I put some in a big planter of sand. Might try that sometime. Such a lovely color!

Against my suspicions and advice from people who grow this, I planted mine inground, with no restraints. I will be watching it very closely.....

I've worked around it some in a few accounts. It is easy to grow in any sunny place with well-drained soil. If all by itself in a confine...Read Mored area as in parkways, parking lot islands, or big containers, it looks great. I remember one account in a backyard near a pool, though, where a patch of it looked horrible with diverse blades here and there. It spreads fast by underground roots, so the only other plants I would have around would be trees with high branches; no shrubs, bushes, perennials, or annuals. While it looks good with boulders, rocks, and sand, like many ornamental grasses, it should not be planted in dunes or on hills or banks out in nature because it becomes an invasive plant, that originally comes from Europe and western Asia. This cultivar is bluer in color than 'Glauca' and seems to be replacing it.

Beautiful blue foliage, but its deep fast-spreading rhizomes are difficult to restrain in a mixed border. This is one of the species that...Read More give ornamental grasses an evil reputation for aggression in the garden.

Leaf edges are sharp and can give nasty cuts.

This is a coastal sand dune stabilizer native to Europe. Where it's been used to stabilize dunes in North America, as in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and on the Lake Michigan shore of Wisconsin, it's proven to be invasive, outcompeting native vegetation. [HYPERLINK@www.uwgb.edu]

Also called European dune grass, blue wild rye, lyme grass, and sea lyme grass.