Yellow Eyed Grass

• Scientific Name: Sisyrinchium californicum
• Garden: Natives Garden
• Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial
• Evergreen/Deciduous: Deciduous
• Sun/Shade Exposure: Full Shade
• Moisture Requirements: Moist/Well-Drained

Plant Information

This one does well in any wet, sunny spot in the garden. It typically grows on the margins of lakes, bogs and other wet places. This is the Sisyrinchium that requires the most moisture, the wettest place in the garden (one year at the nursery, under the sprinkler system, it self-seeded in the gravel at the base of the tables in the native section!). The flowers are a beautiful, bright, buttery yellow, and will self-seed somewhat aggressively in situations that are moist enough (would that be so bad?).

Characteristics: Short, grasslike, flattened leaves are arranged in a clump, parallel to the flowering stem. The flowers are mostly blue to purple, yellow in the case of S. californicum, all single flowers of six petals, rounded, sometimes with a pointed tip.

Culture: Grows in full sun to partial shade, moist to dry conditions, depending on species. There's a native Sisyrinchium, therefore, for every garden!
Maintenance: Virtually maintenance-free.

Pests & Diseases: Does not seem to be particularly troubled by pests or diseases.

Propagation: Some will self-seed more readily than others, or seeds can be collected from their capsules and planted soon thereafter, in late summer into fall, or stored in a cool, dry space for planting in early spring.

Clumps of plants can also be divided in the early spring or late summer, which is probably the most reliable method.

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