River Oats

River Oats - Chasmanthium latifolium is a Cool-Season Grass

River Oats is a native grass to the southeastern United States and northeastern South America. It produces beautiful seed heads in midsummer reminiscent of the sea oats you'd find at the beach. It's named for its oat-like seed heads and its ability to prosper in river and stream banks.

This cool-season grass, River Oats, grows in clumps, and the seedheads are in panicles, much like oats. The seedheads also change color throughout the season, from translucent green to rich brown in the summer and fall. However, if the River Oats grass turns yellow, that means that it lacks nutrients.

 River Oats are Easy to Maintain

They are easy to maintain, in fact almost maintenance-free, except to keep them under control. Leaving foliage during the winter helps protect the crown from the cold. Once spring comes around, cut back to the ground. River Oats would make a great ornamental plant for your garden. This plant is also suitable for erosion control and bank stabilization.

In the wild, River Oats are often found growing in the woods along streams or rocky slopes. River Oats is very tolerant of more deficient dry soils but mostly prefers moist, fertile soil.

Known by many monikers, including Wild Oats, Upland Oats, Upland Sea Oats, Inland Sea Oats, Flathead Oats, and Indian Wood Oats, River Oats are a species of deciduous, a perennial grass native to North America. Found across the eastern United States from Pennsylvania south to Florida and west into Kansas, Texas, and parts of Mexico, River Oats thrive in moist, acidic soils comprised of sand, clay or loam, and may tolerate poorly drained soils. Preferring shady habitats, these plants can often found on the banks of streams or rivers, in low thickets, or on sheltered slopes. 

 Sprouting blue-green basal leaves in late winter or early spring. River Oats may grow from 2 to 4 feet in height, leaving a bright light to medium green by May or June. Each stalk features 2-3 oat-like flower spikelets, the weight of which causes the lazy, drooping look that lends this plant its endearing character. These seedheads begin life a translucent green, maturing to attractive ivory before finally browning and dropping off the plant in late autumn. The plant will turn a bright yellow-brown if consistently exposed to sunlight and darken to a soft brown with winter weather. Maintain a neat appearance during the dormant winter months. The plants' tops should cut down the slacks to the ball rosette in mid-winter, often used as a low-maintenance accent for shady lawns. River Oats are also invaluable additions to riverbanks, as their robust and net-like root system helps prevent erosion.

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