native grass for paintbrush

Hello all,
Does anyone know a nice North American native grass that does nicely as a host for Indian paintbrush (Castilleja spp)? The only recommendation I got at my fav store was Festuca glauca.

 

Although not always host-specific, some paintbrushes are associated with particular other species. So, if you are looking to cultivate Castilleja, it would be helpful to know what species you wish to grow, and then an obligate associate host(s) might be necessary.

 

Unfortunately the seed pack I have just says spp.
So you mean some species of Castilleja only host with one other species of plant?

 

That's correct, for example I suspect the host species for Castilleja applegatei var. pinetorum is big sagebrush.

I've read elsewhere that the difficulty with cultivating Castilleja is not the germination, but ensuring it has the proper host to survive over the long-term.

 

It is interesting and as the article you referenced says,

"Though it does not need to parasitize to survive (the species is chlorophyllous, after all), parasitizing other species can produce more robust, longer-living plants. In the case of Steens Mountain, I suspect the host plant is typically Artemisia tridentata, or big sagebrush."

The actual connections may even be made by something else like the mycorrhizal grid connections underground between roots. I also alluded to such relationship connections in this post back in July of 2009 where I referenced research done on speciman plantings of Arbutus(Madrone) in urban environments of Seattle which didn't fare very well as opposed to those found mixed with Douglas Fir in the wilds of the surrounding areas. Understanding how these interlinking relationships work will help any gardener/landscaper/environmental restoration project worker have greater success in their efforts. I'm a firm believer and practicer of community plantings where you choose plants from the same ecosystems, or related systems and group them together. It is imperative to find the correct mycorrhizal species to interact with the community ecogroup. As a result, this more than anything else has allowed me to use ZERO chemical fertilizers and as obvious side benefit which naturally would follow, NO chemical pesticide useage.

Here's my older post:
Arbutus Health Issues

On another side note here, there may be other reasons why Indian Paintbrush finds success amongst Artemisia tridentata. I don't have the links on this present computer, but you can google the above sage plant and attach word/terms of hydraulic lift - hydraulic redistribution - hydraulic descent to your search and find an amazing fact about not just the plant in question, but unique plants found in all various global ecosystems which have the ability to send their roots down deep into the sub-soil and lift vast amounts of water and benefit plants closest to them. They also have the ability to pump vast amounts of rainwater back into the soil when excessive amounts are in the surface soils when the rainy season is present. Mesquite(Prosopis species) and countless others have this incredible ability and without them systems would fail. Though many folks more than likely would never consider Artemisia tridentata as not having any real ornamental value, it never the less has important ecosystem value in nature.

I was going to do a bit on Hydraulic Lift & Redistribution on my blog soon(and I still will), but perhaps if I've time I'll do a piece here. I believe that everyone should have a working knowledge of the engineering mechanics of exactly how things work in nature and gradually replace the conventional chemical techniques big business has indoctrinated our culture with. The challenge really is to put it in terms which illustrate the subject minus the loaded terminologies of alot of intellect speak which in turn make it palletable to the novices.

In advance, having been here before and run into word/term gaming problems with some, I apologize ahead of time to certain folks who may believe I've missed the mark on some things here.

Cheers

 

This part was actually not answered and I'm sure I don't have an answer for you. Not having any experience with plant communities in your area, I would advise finding a native bunch grass that won't grow very high and overwhelm your Indian Paint Bruah.

Down in So-Cal in high desert regions I did see Paint Brush growing in among the native small bunch grasses there, so I don't see a problem, but clearly find varieties in your specific area that may work and by all means use some sort of a mycorrhizal innoculant for success.

 

Elsewhere I have read that Sedum sp. are often hosts.

Big sagebrush has been grown as an ornamental, something I have done myself. You can find it treated as such in multiple references.