Orchard Grass is a cool-season perennial bunching grass that grows up to 6 feet high. It is a cespitose (clumping, mat-forming) grass native to Eurasia and Africa that is generally considered a weed. It can be found in meadows, pasture, roadsides, and rough grassland and has become invasive in some areas of eastern USA. Orchard grass forms a dense network of non-rhizomatous roots, making it useful for erosion control. It has been introduced throughout most of the cool-temperate regions of the world as a forage grass in pastures, and for hay and silage production. It is highly palatable to all classes of livestock, although it is considered a weed in turf grass. Cats are said to like to chew it, hence the common name Cat Grass. Orchardgrass is used in grass-legume mixes for nesting, brood rearing, escape and winter cover in upland wildlife and conservation plantings. Diseases, Insects, and Other Plant Problems : No significant diseases or insect problems. Considered invasive in some states. Weedy, When abundant, the pollen can be a major contributor to hay fever.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt)
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Wet
Available space
3 feet-6 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
High
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Clumping; Dense; Erect; Multi-stemmed
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Blue; Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf feel
Rough
Leaf size
> 6 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Leaves up to 10 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Leaves have a bluish hue, folded when immature but later flat, with prominent white midrib on the under side. The leaf blades of infertile shoots spread outward and remain low, while the blades of alternate leaves on fertile shoots are more arching.
Flower color
Gold/Yellow
Flower value
Long Bloom Season
Flower form
Panicle; Spike
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
Panicle, 0.4 to 3 inches long, with spikelets grouped together in dense, one-sided clusters at the end of panicle branches, usually pyramidal. Spikelets greenish, contain 2 to 5 florets, lemmas pointed to short-awned. The flowers are very inconspicuous, without showy petals or sepals. The distinctive tufted triangular flowerhead is green to reddish and turns gray as the seeds mature.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit color
Gold/Yellow
Fruit size
> 3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Fruit are valuable to wildlife. Two to eight inches in panicle.
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
Stems are hairless, geniculate the base. Plants are clump-forming.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Macaronesia, Mediterranean to Temperate Eurasia, Africa
Distribution
throughout North America
Wildlife value
Orchardgrass is used in grass-legume mixes for nesting, brood rearing, escape and winter cover in upland wildlife and conservation plantings. It also provides forage for livestock, deer, geese, and rabbits.