Poa nemoralis, also called grove bluegrass, is often used in seed mixtures for shade lawns. We show why this plant is particularly suitable for this and how you can benefit from its advantages in the garden.
You have probably never consciously noticed this type of grass, but you may remember the intense green in the undergrowth of a light deciduous forest. You probably have the grove bluegrass there (Poa nemoralis) last seen. This type of grass is characterized by its high degree of shade tolerance and is therefore ideally suited as a component of shadow grass seeds like ours Plantura shade lawn mixture.
Poa nemoralis: origin and description
As a native species, the grove bluegrass is often found in Germany. Its natural distribution extends over large parts of the northern hemisphere: from China to Kamchatka, from the Caucasus to the Alps and to Morocco. The grass is particularly noticeable because of its protruding leaves. The flowers appearing in June and July are arranged in panicles and thus indicate that it belongs to the genus of the panicle grasses (
Poa). Poa nemoralis can be up to 80 centimeters high and grows in loose clumps mainly in light deciduous and mixed forests. Both the German name Hain-Rispengras and the Latin name of the species point to this preference nemoralis there.
In clear areas in the forest, the soil is mostly fresh and humus and rich in nutrients due to the regularly falling leaves. The grove bluegrass has adapted perfectly to these conditions. It also needs soils with an alkaline to slightly acidic pH value. By fertilizing with primarily organic fertilizer like our Plantura Organic lawn fertilizer the humus content of the soil can be increased, thereby improving the conditions for the grass.
Its occurrence in forests, bushes and groves indicates the high shade tolerance of the grass. That makes the grass species an excellent part of Shadow lawn seed mixtures. In places where grass otherwise grows rather sparsely due to lack of light, such mixtures can work wonders. Because of this, you will Poa nemoralis also in ours Plantura shade lawn mixture find again.
Properties and uses of the grove bluegrass
For a quick overview we have the properties of Poa nemoralis briefly summarized below:
| Poa nemoralis in brief | |
|---|---|
| characteristics | Forms loose clumps, gray-greenish color |
| Expectations | Demands Nutrient-rich and humus soil, alkaline to moderately acidic pH value, sufficient moisture |
| Durability | Moderate to low resilience |
| use | Shadow lawns, part of our Plantura shadow lawn mix, biotope areas, landscape lawns |
| Germination time and development | 14-24 days, medium-fast development |
| Cutting tolerance | Moderately cut tolerant, not too frequent mowing, do not shorten to less than 5 cm |
| particularities | Very shade-tolerant, very well adapted to the local climate, high tolerance to lawn diseases |
Use of Poa nemoralis
Grove bluegrass is hardly used consciously in agriculture. However, it can often be found on more shady pastures. The grass has made a name for itself in particular through its use in Shadow lawn made. Where there is a lack of light, you can Poa nemoralis Its merits prove, which is why it is also an important part of ours Plantura shadow lawn is. However, since the grass has quite shallow roots, it is a little sensitive to intensive use and frequent cutting. For this reason, the type of grass is primarily suitable for areas where the load is limited. Entering, setting up garden chairs or the like is of course not a problem, only football games or raging and digging dogs would play badly on the lawn.
