Muttongrass: A Native Southwestern Grass for Your Garden
If you’re looking to add authentic Southwestern character to your landscape, muttongrass (Poa fendleriana albescens) might be just the native grass you’ve been searching for. This perennial grass brings a piece of the natural Southwest right to your backyard, though it’s admittedly one of the more mysterious members of the native plant world.
What Exactly is Muttongrass?
Muttongrass is a native perennial grass that belongs to the bluegrass family. You might also see it listed under its synonym Poa albescens Hitchc. in some plant databases. As a true grass (part of the Poaceae family), it offers that classic grass-like texture and movement that can add life and natural beauty to garden spaces.
Where Does Muttongrass Call Home?
This grass is a proud native of the American Southwest, specifically calling Arizona and New Mexico home. As a plant that’s native to the lower 48 states, it’s perfectly adapted to the unique conditions of its southwestern range.
Why Consider Muttongrass for Your Garden?
Here’s where things get a bit tricky – muttongrass is something of an enigma in the gardening world. While we know it’s a native perennial grass from the Southwest, specific details about its appearance, size, and garden performance are surprisingly hard to come by. This makes it more of an adventure plant for the truly curious native plant enthusiast.
What we do know is that choosing native plants like muttongrass supports local ecosystems and provides plants that are naturally adapted to regional growing conditions. Native grasses often require less water and maintenance once established compared to non-native alternatives.
Growing Muttongrass: The Honest Truth
Here’s where I need to be completely upfront with you: specific growing information for Poa fendleriana albescens is quite limited. This could mean a few things:
- It might be a relatively uncommon subspecies in cultivation
- It could be more of a specialist plant for restoration projects rather than home gardens
- Information simply hasn’t been widely documented for home gardeners
If you’re determined to grow muttongrass, your best bet would be to contact native plant societies in Arizona or New Mexico, local extension offices, or specialized native grass suppliers who might have more specific growing guidance.
Alternative Native Grasses to Consider
If muttongrass proves too elusive for your garden project, don’t despair! The Southwest is home to many other beautiful native grasses that are better documented and more readily available:
- Blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis)
- Buffalo grass (Poaceae dactyloides)
- Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
- Indian ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides)
The Bottom Line on Muttongrass
Muttongrass represents one of those fascinating native plants that reminds us how much we still have to learn about our local flora. While it might not be the easiest grass to find or grow, it’s a reminder of the incredible diversity of native plants in the American Southwest.
If you do manage to locate and successfully grow muttongrass, you’ll be cultivating a piece of authentic southwestern landscape – and possibly contributing valuable information to the gardening community about this lesser-known native grass. Sometimes the most rewarding gardening adventures come from the plants that make us work a little harder to understand them.
