Overdam Feather Reed Grass Info: How To Grow Overdam Grass In The Landscape

Overdam feather reed grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Overdam') is a cool-season, ornamental clumping grass with attractive, variegated blades of bright green striped with white streaks. Keep reading to learn more about how to grow Overdam grass and how to care for feather reed grass Overdam plants.

Overdam Feather Reed Grass Info

What is Overdam feather reed grass? It’s a variegated variety of feather reed grass, a very popular cool-season, ornamental grass. It’s a naturally occurring hybrid between Asian and European species of grass. It is hardy in USDA zones 4 through 9. The plant grows quickly, with its foliage usually reaching 1.5 to 2 feet (0.46 to 0.60 m.) in both height and spread. In the summer, it puts up stunning flower and seed plumes that are golden in color and can reach 6 feet (2 m.) in height. The seeds are sterile, so there’s no danger of unwanted self-seeding and spreading. Its foliage is bright to light green, with borders that are white to cream-colored. It grows in a clumping pattern and looks especially nice in garden beds as a backdrop to flowering perennials where it provides interesting shades of green and white in the spring, and stunning height, texture, and color with its flower and seed stalks in the summer.

How to Grow Overdam Grass

Growing Overdam grass is easy, and the plants are very low maintenance. Feather reed grass ‘Overdam’ plants prefer full sun, though in hotter areas they do well with some afternoon shade. Just be careful not to overdo it with the shade, or you run the risk of your plants becoming leggy and flopping over. They grow well in most soil conditions, and will even tolerate clay, which sets them apart from most other ornamental grasses. They like moist to wet soil. Foliage will stay through winter, but it should be cut back to the ground in late winter to make way for new spring growth.