Calamagrostis acutiflora Eldorado - Feather Reed Grass

The Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Eldorado' is also known as Hybrid Reed Grass 'Eldorado'. Derived from the famous variety 'Karl Foerster', this cultivar possesses the same aesthetic qualities, adding a beautiful presence to the garden with its slender and swaying habit. It distinguishes itself with generously variegated green foliage with bright yellow in the centre. It is a tall and erect perennial grass, perfect for structuring a space. Very hardy and versatile, it is well-suited for wet soils, but also resistant to dry and poor soils, spectacular at the edge of water features, without ever becoming invasive.

The Calamagrostis acutiflora 'Eldorado' is a robust perennial, sometimes called reed grass, resulting from the hybridisation between C.epigejos and C. arundinacea, also known as 'Stricta'. These grasses from the poaceae family, native to cold regions of Europe and temperate Asia, generally thrive in moist soils, in full sun or partial shade. 'Eldorado' forms an erect clump reaching 1.40m to 1.50m in height and 70cm to 80cm in width, composed of long and slim leaves, flexible and glossy, with a dark greyish or slightly bluish green colour, longitudinally streaked with bright yellow. The flowering stems appear in June-July. They are upright, rigid, and topped with long, thin, very vertical spikes, with an intermediate colour between pinkish-white and bronze, nuanced with green. These elegant plumes are particularly attractive in the morning dew. They then turn a browner colour and, in autumn, become blonde and luminous, the colour of ripe seeds, a hue that remains decorative on the plant for a long time. Practically sterile, this plant is not very inclined to propagate. The deciduous foliage withers quite late, replaced by fresh new foliage early in spring.

Out of the 250 species that make up the Calamagrostis genus, very few are interesting. On the other hand, those that have real ornamental value are remarkably beautiful, like the acutiflora hybrids. The hybrid Reed Grass 'Eldorado' is remarkable for adding a vertical note to the garden. It can be used in many ways and requires little care. In a naturalistic or slightly wild garden, it structures a bed of tall flowering perennials such as Veronicastrum, giant Asters, and Echinaceas. In a more formal or modern garden, its architectural silhouette, when planted en masse, brings beautiful movement. It also adapts very well to container gardening, a cultivation method that showcases its beautiful form.