Hordeum jubatum (foxtail barley) - how weedy?

Discussion in 'Outdoor Gardening in the Pacific Northwest' started by tiger_lily, Nov 17, 2006.

  1. tiger_lily

    tiger_lily Active Member 10 Years

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    I found a photo of Hordeum jubatum, and would love to add this to my garden. From what I've read about it, it would tolerate well the wet conditions in some parts of my garden. However, the description "weedy" keeps coming up.

    I'm more of a perennial gardener, working on establishing plants which form clumps and spread in a predictable way, deadhead before self-seeding too extensively.... I am getting in over my head with the hordeum, since I'll want to leave the seedheads on, as this is the attractive part?

    Lily
     
  2. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    You'll probably want to find something else - they are many other similarly attractive grasses without the weedy qualities of Hordeum. I'll give an example from flooded in Manitoba: Rumex crispus and Hordeum jubatum. I can only imagine what it would do if it was growing in a garden setting with presumably more favourable conditions.
     
  3. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    The seeds are also very nasty if you get them stuck in clothing
     

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