Morphology and Cultural Properties of a Leymus chinensis Adjusting to Ground-Cover and Landscaping

By artificial selection and single plant propagation, a vegetative strain of Leymus chinensis of bluish colour and unitary property suitable for ground-cover and landscaping is cultivated. In contrast to wild Leymus chinensis, the strain has morphological characteristics as: ripen brown spike, palea obviously shorter than the lemma. In the Beijing area, it starts to spike at the end of March and to flower in late May. Flowering continues for about a week. At early June, the density of its branching culms reaches 1852 culm/m~2 with a spiking rate of 14.3%. Hereafter, the culms' density begins to wane. The plant can be transplanted any time during its vegetation with 100% surviving rate. Transplantation facilitates its rhizomes to extend outward evenly. The average extension distance within the year of transplanting reaches 2.09 m. From then on, the extension rate slows down. Upon the obtained data, the maximum distance between the resetting plants should be 2.96 m. Cutting during vegetation disturbs the growth. In landscaping and gardening the plant shows unique aesthetic effect with its special bluish colour in contrast to the fresh yellowish green of the surrounding verdures.