Plant American Beachgrass From Dormant Culms

Plant American beachgrass while it is dormant, from fall into early spring. Set two stems at least eight inches deep, then firm the sand so wind cannot pull them.

Plant dormant culms from fall into early spring

This is a cool-season grass, so plant American beachgrass while the culms are dormant and the surface sand is cool. [1] Mid-October through March is the usual window. Skip a freeze day. Summer planting of bareroot stems fails because the surface sand cooks the growing point. [2] Sun, salt, and keeping people off the stand stay on How to Grow American Beachgrass.

How to plant American beachgrass

Work one hole at a time. Keep the bases of the culms moist until they are in the sand. The growing point is the firm white node at the bottom of the stem. Roots may not show yet, and that is normal.

1. Keep the bundle in the shade, wrapped so the bases stay moist. Dry wind on the nodes is the usual reason a planting fails before it starts. [3]
2. Open a hole with a dibble, a tiling spade, or the heel of a shovel, eight to ten inches deep.
3. Set two stems in the hole, sometimes three on a harsh slope. The growing points sit deep, with most of each stem buried.
4. Fill and firm the sand with your foot so there are no air pockets. A loose hole dries the node and lets the wind pull the stems.
5. Space holes twelve to eighteen inches apart on a staggered grid. Use twelve inches on a steep or blowing face, and you can open the grid a little on a level, quiet bank. [4]
6. On an ocean dune, start the seaward row well above the normal high-tide wrack, and plant several rows deep so the strip can catch blowing sand.

Split a bundle into culms

American beachgrass is increased by stems with a live basal node, not by a seed packet this year. A planting unit is two stems in one hole.

1. Keep the bundle moist while you work.
2. Pull or cut the bunch into single culms, or into small clusters if you want a more natural look. Each piece needs the firm white node at the base. A stem with no node will not root.
3. Replant at once, two stems per hole, at the same depth, and firm the sand.

What fails at planting

A shallow hole leaves the growing point in hot surface sand, and the stem dries or blows out. A summer planting of bareroot culms hits the same problem. Seed heads look useful in August, but seed is sparse and seedlings rarely take on a live dune, so do not sow a packet and call the job done. Do not dig plants from a wild dune to stock a new strip; buy nursery culms. If you cannot plant within a few days, keep the bases moist in the shade, or heel the bundle into a trench of damp sand until you can finish.

If a new hole is shallow or loose, reset the culms today so wind and sun cannot pull them dry.