kawelu
Eragrostis variabilis · Poaceae
kawelu (Eragrostis variabilis) is a perennial grass or grass-like plant in the Poaceae family. It is native to North America. USDA records it as hardy in zone 11 and warmer, down to about 40°F.
At a glance
| Type | graminoid USDA |
|---|---|
| Lifecycle | perennial USDA |
| Native status | native USDA |
| Mature height | 3 ft USDA |
| Light | full-sun USDA |
| Soil pH | 5–6 USDA |
| Hardiness zones | 11 and warmer USDA |
| Guild layer | herb-layer Derived |
| Nursery availability | No Known Source USDA |
USDA quoted from the USDA PLANTS database · Derived computed by a fixed rule from those columns. No value on this page is estimated.
Growing conditions
It needs full sun. Its drought tolerance is rated medium. It is recorded on soils from pH 5 to 6 — acidic ground. Its cold limit is zone 11.
Size and growth
At maturity it reaches about 3 ft, making it roughly waist to chest height.
Foliage, flower and season
Summer foliage is green, fine in texture. Its flowers are not conspicuous — a plant for form and foliage. Its active growth period is spring and summer. USDA rates its lifespan as short, so plan on replacing or resowing it rather than treating it as permanent structure.
What the site needs to provide
USDA records it across sites receiving 17 to 70 inches of annual precipitation. It needs at least 365 frost-free days to finish its season. It roots to at least 12 inches. Fertility requirement: medium.
Propagating it
Propagate it from seed and sod. USDA records no cold-stratification requirement, so seed should germinate without a chilling period.
Resilience and wildlife
Its growth form is recorded as rhizomatous.
Role in a guild
Herb layer. In a layered planting this is the herbaceous middle — perennials and grasses that fill the space between ground cover and shrubs. The layer is derived by a fixed rule from growth habit and mature height.
Tags
Related plants
Others in Eragrostis
- weeping lovegrass Eragrostis curvula
- teal lovegrass Eragrostis hypnoides
- plains lovegrass Eragrostis intermedia
- Lehmann lovegrass Eragrostis lehmanniana
Similar role and hardiness
- fragrant flatsedge Cyperus odoratus
Where this data comes from
Every value on this page comes from the USDA PLANTS database record for symbol ERVA, or is computed from those values by a fixed rule. Nothing here is estimated or model-generated. Where USDA publishes no value, this page omits the claim rather than filling the gap.
- Quoted from USDA PLANTS: active growth period, cold stratification, Drought tolerance, fall conspicuous, fertility requirement, flower conspicuous, foliage color, foliage porosity winter, foliage texture, frost free days min, fruit conspicuous, growth form, Hardiness zones, Lifecycle, lifespan, Light, Mature height, Minimum temperature, Native status, Nitrogen fixation, Nursery availability, precipitation max in, precipitation min in, propagation, resprout ability, root depth in, Soil pH, Soil pH (upper), Tolerance of wet soil, Toxicity, Type.
- Derived by a fixed rule from those columns: Guild layer.
Read our full data sources and methodology.
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