Eragrostis spectabilis Snuggy seeds

Eragrostis spectabilis 'Snuggy', also known as Love Grass, is a perennial grass selected for its compact habit and its particularly decorative flowering. It forms a dense clump, topped in late summer with a multitude of fine, light inflorescences that take on purple hues in the sun. Hardy and drought-resistant, 'Snuggy' requires little maintenance. This decorative grass is ideal for borders, in dry gardens, or for naturalising in flower meadows and on slopes.

Eragrostis spectabilis 'Snuggy' belongs to the Poaceae family. The type species is also known as Purple Love Grass or Tumble Grass. Among its botanical synonyms are Poa spectabilis, Eragrostis geyeri, and Megastachya spectabilis. This species is native to North America, from southern Canada to northeastern Mexico. It naturally colonises sandy or disturbed soils, such as prairies, roadsides, and open areas.

Love Grass 'Snuggy' is a cultivar selected by the German company Benary. Compared to the type species, 'Snuggy' has denser growth, more colourful flowering, and is better adapted to landscape plantings. This perennial grass forms a dense clump 50 to 60 cm tall and wide. It develops flat, basal leaves of medium green colour, measuring up to 25 cm long and 1 cm wide. The inflorescences, which appear from July to October, consist of airy panicles, reaching up to 35 cm long and 50 cm wide, turning purple to reddish as they mature. These light, airy inflorescences persist until autumn. The root system of Eragrostis spectabilis is fibrous and rhizomatous, giving it a good ability to stabilise soil. It propagates mainly by self-seeding, with the inflorescences often detaching in winter to disperse the seeds by wind. This grass is adapted to dry, sandy, or gravelly, acidic soils. Hardy down to -20 °C, it enters dormancy during winter, its foliage being deciduous.

Graphic and light, Eragrostis spectabilis 'Snuggy' naturally finds its place in dry, contemporary, or naturalistic gardens. It is used for mass planting to create a moving mist effect at the edge of a border, to highlight the lines of a path, or to structure a flower meadow. Its light habit particularly complements perennials such as Echinacea purpurea ‘Magnus’, Perovskia atriplicifolia ‘Blue Spire’ for its refreshing blue-silver colour, Sedum ‘Matrona’ for its beautiful late flowering, and Calamintha nepeta for its lightness.