Heirochloe Odorata (Sweet Grass)
5 seeds
Sweet grass is a perennial native grass, also known as Buffalo grass or Holy Grass. Native to North America and Europe, almost every significant Native American tribe used sweet grass for weaving, flavoring and as a medicinal grass. The vanilla-scented braids were burned as incense and as a peace offering in a manner similar to white sage (salvia apiana). Sweet grass came to be regarded as more than just a grass though. Sweet grass has literally been woven into the history and heart of America, and we see that from the long list of notorious tribes including the Lakotoa to the Cheyenne to the Blackfoot to the Omaha to the Sioux, all of which so deeply held this grass sacred as a testament of the power and energy of this single plant. Today it is still grown for the same uses it has been grown for throughout history and as a landscaping plant. It links together generations who have all found something special in the single plant. This single fiber of human being is becoming rare in the wild and should be preserved.
Growing Information:
Sweet grass is a frost-hardy perennial grass that spread by rhizomes. It usually prefers cool moist locations such as at the edge of a meadow. Seeds should be buried with just a thin dusting of soil. A moist fertile soil is ideal. By nature, it can be difficult to start from seeds, and seedlings tend to have low vigor. If germination does not occur within 6 weeks, you can cold stratify them. Despite the challenge from seed, once established, plants quickly spread by rhizomes which can be divided to form new plants. Plants prefer full sun to partial shade. Sweet grass does well in containers or in the ground, but should be kept from any type of drought and should not be exposed to extremely low temperatures. In most areas, this presents no issue as these limits are well below freezing. Plants will typically top out at about 2 feet in height.
