Bluejoint vs Yellow Mountain Avens - TreeTime.ca

Bluejoint vs Yellow Mountain Avens

Calamagrostis canadensis

Dryas drummondii

CUSTOM GROW

CUSTOM GROW

Bluejoint
Yellow Mountain Avens

Bluejoint is a native perennial grass that forms tall, dense colonies. It is one of the most abundant grasses found in Canada and the United States. The extensive shallow root system and spreading rhizomes help stabilise soils, especially in wet meadows, marshes, and along streambanks.
It is a cool-season grass, growing most actively in spring and fall and slowing during the heat of summer. Seeds from its purple-tinged spikes feed birds and small mammals, and the plant itself provides forage for wildlife and livestock, though it does not tolerate heavy grazing. Its tall, dense growth also offers nesting habitat for wetland birds. With these combined values, Bluejoint is well-suited for naturalisation, riparian plantings, and habitat restoration projects.

Yellow Mountain Avens is a native perennial wildflower with bright yellow buttercup-like blooms. The nectar-rich flowers attract a variety of pollinators, including bees and butterflies. By thriving at higher elevations, it helps sustain pollinator populations and provides one of the earliest sources of nectar and pollen in alpine habitats.

As a nitrogen-fixing plant, Yellow Mountain Avens enriches soil fertility and supports the growth of surrounding vegetation. It forms dense, spreading mats of evergreen foliage that act as a groundcover and help stabilize soil. Often among the first species to establish in disturbed alpine sites such as glacial outwash or landslides, it is well-suited for alpine revegetation, erosion control, naturalization, and ecological restoration projects in harsh, rocky environments.

Bluejoint Quick Facts

Yellow Mountain Avens Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 1b
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Height: 0.2 m (0.5 ft)
Spread: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Spread: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: medium
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Growth form: upright, clump-forming
Growth form: mat-forming, creeping
Spreading: rhizomes - high, seeds - high
Spreading: stolons - medium, seeds - low


Foliage: evergreen, leathery
Flowers: yellow, buttercup-like, nodding
Bloom time: spring to summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, NU, PE
Native to: AB, BC, SK, ON, QC, NB, NL, YT, NT
Other Names: bluejoint grass, bluejoint reedgrass, canada blue joint, canada reedgrass, marsh reedgrass
Other Names: drummonds dryad, drummonds mountain avens, yellow dryad