Molinia caerulea subsp. arundinacea Karl Foerster - Purple Moor-grass

Molinia caerulea subsp. arundinacea 'Karl Foerster' is an old variety of blue Molinia that remains unmatched for its architectural silhouette and beautiful autumn colours. It is a tall but extremely graceful grass, with airy light and moving flowers evoking soft feathers that elegantly dominate a lovely fountain of leaves. The entire plant is covered in gold in autumn. This exceptional plant adds charm to the late season and structures the flower beds even in winter with its frosty silhouette. Plant it in full sun, in any good garden soil.

Native to Northern Europe, Southwest and North Asia, Siberia, Turkey, and the Caucasus, Molinia caerulea belongs to the poaceae family. It owes its species name to the blue reflections that characterize its foliage. The subspecies arundinacea is distinguished by its tall stature, autumn colours, and inflorescences which are beautiful when laden with rain or traversed by the yellow and low autumn light. This grass has a thick, fibrous, and tenacious crown that takes a little time to establish, but lives for many years.

'Karl Foerster' is an old German selection particularly interesting for its beautiful autumn colours and the architectural beauty of its flowers. This perennial forms a clump of gracefully trailing foliage that will reach 45 to 50 cm (18 to 20in) high and 60 cm (24in) wide, from which tall flowering stems emerge from August, reaching 2 m (7ft) or more high. Its leaves are thin and flat, dark green and glossy in summer, turning golden blond in autumn, and persisting in a more beige to brown shade in winter. The tall, slender, and sturdy flowering stems bear panicles of airy spikelets that slightly arch and press against the stems. They are pink-brown to golden yellow in autumn, ending in a silvery hue in winter. The vegetation of this grass starts quite late in spring.

Milinia 'Karl Foerster' is a large, romantic grass with graceful yet well-defined architecture. Its presence is strong, its charm subtle and wild. For a beautiful effect in a natural garden, plant it in groups of 3 along a path, or at the corner of a terrace in a contemporary garden. In a countryside setting, plant it here and there between low bushes (groundcover roses) and perennials (autumn asters, tall sedums, echinaceas) or in front of conifers, so that the light illuminates it. It will also find a place near water points, where it will help to stabilise the banks, in the company of other grasses, druses, willowherbs, gunneras, or sedges.

The swollen base of the Blue Molinia stems is used as a pipe cleaner and toothpick. In nature, molinias are hosts to ergot, a disease of cereals, including rye, which causes serious neurological disorders if eaten by humans due to the hallucinogenic alkaloids it contains. Among cereals, only maize and sorghum are not affected.