'Blonde Ambition’

Name: Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition.'

Common name: Blue grama grass.

Description: Its profusion of big, showy chartreuse flowers, held horizontally above the leaves is unlike any other ornamental grass in cultivation. The 2½- to 3-foot-tall stems of flowers mature to long-lasting blonde seed heads. These flag-like flowers rise up out of the blue-green foliage in mid-summer and remain standing through winter, giving the grass 6 to 8 months of garden color and texture. It grows up to 36 inches tall and wide. It blooms from July to October.

Hardiness: USDA Hardiness Zones 4-9.

Culture: Grows best in full sun to part shade with moderate to dry soil moisture. It will grow in clay, loam or sandy soils.

Uses: David Salman of High Country Gardens, who discovered the plant, suggests pairing 'Blonde Ambition' with other tall, attractive grasses and late-blooming perennials such as big blue stem, little blue stem, purple coneflower varieties, Joe-Pye weed and Russian sage.

Availability: It was co-introduced this year with Plant Select.

For more:www.highcountrygardens.com. www.plantselect.org.