Students for Stewardship The Cork Board
← Back to the library

Big Quaking Grass

Briza maxima (BRIH-za MAKS-ih-mah)

Family: Poaceae Non-native Herbaceous

Great Quaking Grass is an annual or short lived perennial, ornamental, summer grass native to the Mediterranean countries. It is good for dried arrangements and is fire resistant . This plant has open, puffy, overlapping, scale-like seeds, inconspicuous flowers, and is reddish-brown or tan, touched with green. Great Quaking Grass does best in full sun and well-drained soil and tolerates most soil types, including poor soil. This plant is also sold as Briza major and may be confused with Briza Minor although Briza Minor is smaller in size. Great Quaking Grass is considered invasive in California. Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems: No known diseases or insect pests.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 45 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 4 - Herbaceous Optimal soil pH Neutral (6.0-8.0)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

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.

Fills a similar niche Canna Celosia argentea Euphorbia maculata

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Annual; Ornamental Grasses and Sedges
Life cycle
Annual; Perennial
USDA zones
2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect; Multi-stemmed
Texture
Fine
Foliage
Deciduous; Semi-evergreen
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Lanceolate; Linear; Ovate
Leaf value
Good Cut; Good Dried
Leaf size
> 6 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Dense tufts of flat, linear leaves. The two-part leaf has a sheath and a blade, narrow or broad, and the size is variable up to 16 feet long.
Fall color
Gold/Yellow
Flower color
Brown/Copper; Cream/Tan; Gold/Yellow; Green
Flower value
Good Dried
Flower form
Insignificant; Spike
Flower detail
Long lasting panicles of large, flat, ovate, pale yellow spikelets which dangle from slender branches.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit type
Caryopsis
Fruit detail
One fruit may be a covered with a thin pericarp or an utricle with the seed being free.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Native to European and African Mediterranean countries.
Distribution
Worldwide distribution in northern and temperate climates.
Food & Medicine
Fruit type
Caryopsis
Landscape Use
Landscape theme
Cottage Garden
Design feature
Mass Planting
Garden tags
#full sun tolerant #annual grass #dried arrangements #summer flowers #annual #poor soil tolerant #ornamentals #tufted #colorful leaves
Problems & Resistance
Resistant to
Poor Soil
Particularly resistant to
poor soil
Propagation
Seed

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.