Dactylis glomerata Seeds | Orchard Grass
LATIN NAME: Dactylis glomerata
COMMON NAME: Orchard Grass
Plant Profile
Orchard Grass (Dactylis glomerata) grows as a grass in the grass family. Orchard grass is easy, tufted grass of old orchards, and it has fed stock of temperate fields for centuries. Clump-forming, perennial grass carries soft, flat, grey-green leaves and tall, narrow, one-sided seed heads through early summer, and it is one of fine, steady grasses of old meadows and modern pasture. Grass is a generous, easy presence of field, orchard floor and rough bank, coming back year after year. Through the flowering season it keeps visiting bees well supplied. Each of these traits is modest on its own; together they make a garden-worthy plant.
Science & Biotechnology
Botanists studying the grass family regularly include Dactylis glomerata in comparative work, and the species also appears in horticultural trials aimed at gardeners and growers. Orchard grass is a plain, steady subject of plant science, and tufted growth keeps it a regular figure in work on temperate pasture grasses. It is the kind of species that plant scientists reach for when they need reliable material for propagation and selection studies.
Uses & Benefits
Gardeners value Orchard Grass for its ornamental character, and the plant also fits naturally into herb, vegetable and cutting gardens. Orchard grass is a fine, steady grass of old fields and modern pasture. Tall, one-sided seed heads are a fine, light sight of early summer meadow, and grass holds ground of orchard floor and rough bank with the ease. It has been written up in agricultural and ecological papers for early growth and steady ways, and it is a fine, easy grass of open, sunny, well-drained ground. It takes hold quickly and asks for no special treatment from then on.
Orchard grass is one of the world’s great hay grasses, valued for palatable, nutritious forage.
Growing from Seed
Sow fresh seed of Orchard Grass under ordinary good conditions. Scatter the seed evenly over a loose seed compost, cover to no more than its own depth, and keep the pot moist and bright. Transplant the sturdiest seedlings to their permanent spots and let them develop without disturbance.
Our Take
Orchard Grass repays a little patience at sowing time with plenty of garden presence later.
Related Reading
More species in the same orbit as Orchard Grass: