Green drops grass for summer bouquet filler

Large green grasses with tassel-like seed heads that come up and out from the stem and droop downward.
Green drops grass plants in the garden, their seeds are developing.

(Panicum violaeum)

Home » Green Drops Grass for Summer Bouquet Filler

Green drops is a grass with nice gently arching panicles of seeds from its stems. They’re beautiful in fresh arrangements, pairing nicely with the hot colors of summer flowers.

They grow fast and very easily, and they’re so easy to plant. And they dry well for dried arrangements and to put into wreaths.

Green drops flowers and plants

Since this plant is a grass, the usable parts are the seed heads. The seed head is a cluster of long stems with many plump round seeds. When used upright the thin stems droop as from a fountain. They’re pretty in the garden and in fresh bouquets and dried arrangements and wreaths.

The seed clusters get to about 4-7 in long. The plant gets from 4 – 4 ½ ft. tall.

Close-up of green plump seeds dangling from a stem in a bouquet of dark flowers.
Close-up of the plump seeds in a bouquet of dark colored sunflowers.

How to grow green drops

It’s an annual plant, likes full sun, and grows in the warm season. It only needs average soil and water.

They grow fast and yield a lot of harvestable stems.

Direct sow the seeds, from between 3 and 12 in apart. The wispy plants make room for each other with tighter spacing.

How to harvest green drops

Cut the stems where you want them, making sure the stem is strong enough to hold the seed head. Harvest them anytime you want them from when the green seeds are plumping up to when they’re fully ripe and brown.

Once the seeds are plumped up you can hang them to dry. Tie them in small bundles and hand upside down to dry in a dry, dark, airy spot. Then use them in arrangements and wreaths.

Dark reddish sunflowers with green drops grass seed heads drooping amongst them.
Dark colored sunflowers with with green drops grass seed heads drooping amongst them, plus ornamental oregano.

My favorite varieties

There’s only the one, the species… so far. And it’s a good one.

Sources of green drops

Johnny’s Seeds This is a great sources of many of the flower seeds I buy.

The Gardener’s Workshop

Flowers to go with green drops

Bouquet of dark and light pink alstroemeria flowers

Alstroemeria

Classic flowers that last long in the vase, easy to grow, and bloom all season long.

Close up of trailing love-lies-bleeding amaranth flower clusters still on the plant

Amaranth

Add these dramatic flowers to your summer bouquets.

Bright lemon-yellow flowers of golden glow, with many petals.

Golden Glow

The long stems and wildish look of golden glow are a perfect match for green drops.

Crested rose-colored celosia flower heads

Celosia

These colorful flowers look great with green drops both fresh and dried!

Bright orange daisy-like flower

Tithonia

These tall intensely orange flowers pair well with the rich green color of green drops.

Yellow flower with many petals

Perennial Sunflower

Easy to grow, lasts long in a vase, an excellent cutting flower.

Small vase of dried green drops seed heads with pink and white dried flowers in it.
Dried green drops seed heads with a few white strawflowers and pink Gomphrena. I just tried these in 2023, I’ll have better photos in fall of 2024!