Virginia Wildrye
Elymus virginicus
Also known as: Southeastern Wildrye
- Native to:
- Canada, Prince Edward I., United States
iNaturalist: © zihaowang (iNaturalist #53229089)
Taxonomy
- Division:
- Magnoliophyta | - Flowering plants
- Family:
- Poaceae
- Genus:
- Elymus
- Species:
- Elymus virginicus
- USDA Symbol:
- ELVI3
Growth Characteristics
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Growth Habit:
- Graminoid
- Height:
- 120 cm
- Light Requirements:
- Part Shade
- Drought Tolerance:
- Medium
- Bloom Months:
- jun,jul,aug
- Bloom Colors:
- green
Host Plant for Caterpillars
Garden & Ecology Notes
- Wildlife Value:
- birds, small mammals
- Fall Color:
- tan
- Fire Ecology:
- Fire adapted — tolerates or benefits from fire
- Fire Notes:
- Resprouts from basal crown following fire. Common component of fire-maintained woodlands and prairies.
Soil Requirements
- Soil Type:
- fertile, well-drained loamy soil
- pH:
- 5.5 - 7.5 (slightly acidic to neutral)
- Drainage:
- tolerates poor drainage
- Moisture:
- consistently moist
- Notes:
- Commonly found in floodplains and wet meadows
Propagation & Germination
- Stratification:
- Cold/moist stratification required — 30–60 days
- Germination Time:
- 14–28 days
- Notes:
- Cold stratification improves germination rates. Seeds can be fall-sown for natural stratification.
The above propagation data sourced from Claude AI
Pre-treatment: Mix equal amount of seeds with perlite or vermiculite in a Ziploc-style bag or small container. Add a small amount of water and store in a cold environment (33-42 degrees F) for one month. Alternatively, seeds can be surface sown at a rate of 3-5 seeds per cell and lightly covered with starter sized granite poultry grit to combat damping off diseases. Some protocols suggest no treatment is needed, but seeds may germinate more uniformly after a 2-week cold stratification.
Establishment: Seeds are collected from locally native plants. Germination occurs at moderate temperatures. There are regional variations in seed collection and some conflicting information on pre-treatment methods.
Source: npn.rngr.net