Scientific Name
Briza media L.
Common Name(s)
Common Quaking Grass, Quaking Grass, Cow Quake, Didder, Dithering Grass, Dodder Grass, Doddering Dillies, Doddle Grass, Earthquakes, Jiggle Joggles, Jockey Grass, Lady's Hair, Maidenhair Grass, Pearl Grass, Quakers, Quakers and Shakers, Shaking Grass, Tottergrass, Wag Wantons
Synonym(s)
Briza anceps, Briza australis, Briza elatior, Briza lutescens, Briza pauciflora, Briza pilosa, Briza serotina, Briza tremula, Briza viridis, Poa media
Scientific Classification
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Pooideae
Genus: Briza
Origin
Briza media is native to Europe and Asia.
Flower
Color: Pale green
Bloom Time: May to August, 12 weeks from spring sowing
Description
Briza media is a rhizomatous, creeping, warm-season ornamental grass with a clump of erect, narrow green leaves, typically growing up to 15 inches (37.5 cm) tall.
Tiny, greenish flowers appear in spring in loose, airy panicles atop stems rising to 3 feet (90 cm) above the foliage. Then, flowers give way to flattened hop-like, purplish-maturing-to-tan seed heads, which dangle on thread-like stems and quiver in the slightest breeze, thus giving rise to the common name.

Hardiness
USDA hardiness zone 4a to 8b: from −30 °F (−34.4 °C) to 20 °F (−6.7 °C).
How to Grow and Care
Quaking Grass has no special germination requirements and can be sown at any time of the year to raise plants. As with most grass seeds, this means that seeds can also be sown successfully on open ground in both autumn and spring.
It is slow-growing grass and so will take time to establish from seed. Therefore, it is best sown in small quantities to add interest as a minor mixture component, with the main ground cover provided by other companion grass species.
As Quaking Grass is not a very competitive grass, it does require good grassland management (mowing and grazing) to maintain its presence in a mixed sward, particularly on better soils. Neglect or even regular late hay cutting will allow taller grasses the opportunity to outgrow and shade it out. Also, while quaking grass does produce side shoots, it does not spread laterally very much, so it is dependent on self-seeding into gaps created by good management to maintain itself or increase in a mixed sward.
See more at How to Grow and Care for Quaking Grass (Briza).
Links
- Back to genus Briza
- Plantpedia: Browse flowering plants by Scientific Name, Common Name, Genus, Family, USDA Hardiness Zone, or Origin
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