Winter bentgrass is a native perennial plant in the grass family (Poaceae) found throughout the eastern and central United States including North Carolina. It grows in poor dry to moist soils in disturbed areas such as fields, meadows, roadsides and along powerlines. This grass will grow 1 to 2 feet tall with a similar spread and prefers full sun to partial shade in dry sandy well-drained soils. In areas where the soil is very poor, it may act more like an annual but readily reseeds itself. It is adaptable to more fertile and moist soils. Winter bentgrass grows in wispy clumps with both sterile and fertile culms (stems). The grass can grow very quickly and set seed by early summer. Once the taller fertile flowers mature, the culm breaks off at the base to be blown around in the wind. This grass could be used for erosion control of areas with poorer soils. It also provides wildlife benefits to bees and butterflies and could be use in a rock or pollinator garden. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems
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; Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Dry
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 0 in. | Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Clumping
Texture
Fine
Leaf type
Sheath; Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Linear
Leaf size
3-6 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Wispy narrow 2-4 inch long green leaves are alternate along the stem
Flower color
Green; Purple/Lavender
Flower form
Panicle
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
6-9 inch long panicle of greenish or purplish spikelets.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit type
Achene
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
Smooth round light green stems
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
North America
Distribution
AL , AR , CT , DC , DE , FL , GA , IA , IL , IN , KS , KY , LA , MA , MD , ME , MI , MN , MO , MS , NC , NE , NH , NJ , NY , OH , OK , PA , RI , SC , SD , TN , TX , VA , VT , WI , WV Canada: ON
Wildlife value
Provides nesting habitat for stem nesting bees. Some skipper butterflies will use the plant as a host.
Attracts
Bees; Butterflies
Food & Medicine
Fruit type
Achene
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Meadow; Naturalized Area; Slope/Bank
Landscape theme
Butterfly Garden; Pollinator Garden; Rock Garden
Garden tags
#grass #bee friendly #butterfly garden #rock garden #meadow #naturalized area #butterfly caterpillar host #erosion control #slopes #poor soil tolerant