How to Grow Stipa Plants

Guide to Growing Feather grass, Spear grass, and Needle grass

Plants belonging to the Stipa genus are hardy perennial grasses. They have stems ranging from 30 cm to 1.8 m (one to six feet) in height.

They bloom in the summer, when they carry feathery flowers.

Some common names for Stipa include Needlegrass, Feather Grass, Bunchgrass, and Spear grass.

Stipa nelsonii by Matt Lavin.

How to Grow Needlegrass and Other Stipa

You can start growing Needlegrass, Feather grass, and other Stipa from seed indoors or out. If sowing outdoors then sow at a depth of 3 mm (1/8th inch) in the first half of spring.

They prefer to grow in a fertile soil, in a sunny area of the garden that has good drainage.

If starting off indoors, then seeds should take from 3 to 4 weeks to germinate at a temperature of around 20 to 22 degrees centigrade (68 to 72°F).

Start the growing process about 7 or 8 weeks in advance of when they are due to be transplanted into the garden. Putt out Stipa a couple of weeks after the last frost.

The spacing depends on the Stipa species: bigger species should be planted at about 1 m / 40 inches apart; medium at about 50 cm / 20 inches; and smaller varieties at about 30 to 40 cm / 12 to 16 inches apart.

Caring for Stipa

It is quite easy to care for Stipa plants. Juvenile plants should be well watered, until they become deep-rooted. Every spring cut the Stipa plants back to ground level.

Remove side growth to prevent them from spreading throughout the garden. If you require more plants then they can be propagated by division in the spring.

I hope that you enjoyed this guide on how to grow Stipa plants. You may also enjoy the following Gardener's HQ growing guides: How to grow Arundo donax and Tricholaen plants.