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Holcus mollis

creeping velvet grass

Poaceae Europe and western Asia

Drought Tolerant

SunFull Sun – Part Shade

WaterLow · drought-tolerant

HardinessZones 5–9

Overview

Holcus mollis, creeping soft-grass or creeping velvet grass, is a rhizomatous perennial grass in the family Poaceae that spreads underground to form loose, often extensive patches. The flat, soft, grey-green leaf blades are 2-6 inches (5-15 cm) long and softly hairy, and the most reliable feature is the dense ring of backward-pointing hairs on the otherwise hairless nodes, the bearded knees. Flowering stems rise 8-24 inches (20-60 cm) tall in early to mid summer, carrying a loose, oblong panicle 1-4 inches (3-10 cm) long that is whitish to pale purple and turns straw-coloured as the seed ripens. It grows on acidic, sandy, or peaty soils in open woodland, heaths, hedge banks, and rough grassland, where the creeping rhizomes can make it persistent. As a grass of poor acid ground it tolerates low fertility and light shade. It dies back over winter and reshoots from the rhizome in spring. One limitation is its spreading rhizome, which makes it weedy in cultivated ground.

Native Range

Holcus mollis is native to Europe and western Asia, growing on acidic, sandy, and peaty soils in woodland, heath, and rough grassland. It has been introduced to North America and other temperate regions, where it can spread as a weed.

Suggested Uses

It has little ornamental use and is chiefly a wild grass of acid woodland, heath, and rough grassland. It gives ground cover and seed for wildlife on poor sandy soils and can bind light banks.

How to Identify

Creeping soft-grass is recognised by its soft, grey-green, downy leaves and, most surely, by the dense tuft of backward-pointing hairs on the stem nodes while the rest of the node is hairless. The loose panicle is whitish to pale purple, 1-4 inches (3-10 cm) long, ripening to straw. It spreads by rhizome into patches on acid ground. The bearded nodes and rhizomatous habit separate it from the tufted, evenly hairy Yorkshire fog (Holcus lanatus).

Appearance

Size & Dimensions

Height8" - 2'

Width/Spread1' - 3'

Reaches mature size in approximately 2 years

Colors

Flower Colors

Foliage Colors

Fall Foliage Colors

Bloom Information

Bloom Period

~4 weeks

Summer

The grass flowers in early to mid summer, mostly June and July, lifting loose, soft panicles that are whitish flushed with pale purple. The tiny wind-pollinated florets shed pollen over a week or two before the heads fade to straw. Light seed ripens through midsummer, though the plant spreads more by rhizome than by seed.

Detailed Descriptions

Flower Description

whitish to pale purple

Foliage Description

grey-green

Growing Conditions

Sun Requirements

SunFull Sun SunPartial Shade

Requires 4-10 hours of direct sunlight daily

• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight

• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight

• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight

Soil Requirements

pH Range4.5 - 6.5(Acidic)

357912

Soil Types

sand peat loam

Drainagewell drained

Water & Climate

Water Needs

Low

Frost Tolerance

hardy

Time to Maturity

1-2 years

Drought Tolerance

Drought tolerant when established

Care & Maintenance

Care Guide

Holcus mollis grows in full sun to part shade on poor, acidic, sandy or peaty soils and tolerates low fertility and dry, open woodland conditions. It is hardy in roughly USDA zones 5 to 9 and dies back over winter. The creeping rhizomes let it form wide patches, so it is rarely planted on purpose and is more often managed as a weed of acid ground. In gardens it is reduced by digging out the rhizomes and improving competition from other plants. It needs no feeding or watering on the poor, acid soils it favours.

Pruning

No pruning is needed. In rough grassland it is cut or grazed with the surrounding sward in summer. Where it is unwanted, the rhizomes are dug out, since fragments left in the soil regrow.

✓ Toxicity

Non-toxic