How to Grow and Care for Oatgrasses

Poverty Oatgrass gets its name because it grows easily in poor soil. Its seeds can lay dormant until the ground is disturbed, making it one of the first plants to recolonize areas burned by forest fires.

Onespike danthonia is a short and fuzzy-looking grass favored by pocket gophers as food. It's restricted to western North America, where it's quite common in prairies, meadows, and dry slopes, but it doesn't have much known value as a grazing grass for larger wild animals. Onespike danthonia has the potential to make an excellent garden border plant.

California oat grass (Danthonia californica) is a type of bunchgrass found in western North America and in Chile. Some variants sprout hairs from the leaves while others are hairless. It is most common on coastal prairies such as those in Oregon and northern California. California oat grass is opportunistic, though, and hardy enough to withstand foot traffic. It's often seen in disturbed soils.

Flattened oatgrass (Danthonia compressa) is a perennial grass that can grow from 61 to 91 cm tall. It has compressed stems that grow in bunches or tufts. Native to the eastern United States it is commonly found growing in disturbed soils or open wooded areas. It blooms in spring with light green flowers and produces fruit in summer.

Heath-grass (Danthonia decumbens) is a low-growing grass commonly found in heathlands and pastures. This grass is similar to purple moor grass, Molina caerulea, but can be differentiated because it has longer hairs at the end of the leafstalk. Though it is not classified as invasive, it is becoming a threat in the state of Oregon, where it is displacing native vegetation that the threatened Oregon Silverspot Butterfly (Speyeria zerene hippolyta) depends on for food.