Utrecht Blue Spring Wheat
Utrecht Blue Spring Wheat
If you’re looking to grow wheat in containers for decorative purposes, consider this stunning wheat variety. A Dutch heirloom from Utrecht, Netherlands, it produces blue seed heads with black awns that bow gracefully when ready to harvest. Often referred to as “too pretty to eat,” this variety is edible, but tough to thresh.
Characteristics:
- Sow in April for fall harvest
- Open pollinated
- Grows to 3 to 5 feet
- Perfect for growing in containers
- Edible, but hard to thresh
- Works best as an ornamental or grown for weaving
Have you grown Utrecht Blue? Please tell us your favorite thing about it and your experiences growing this unusual variety.
I love this wheat for decorative purposes. The blue seeds are iridescent and I cut it while still in color to put in a vase over the winter. Even with the stems turning brown, the wheat heads hold their color all winter. A side note is that my cat (indoors in the winter) loves to eat the papery strips that come off the stock. I just have to be careful that he doesn’t eat the heads as they’re dangerous because the sharp sprays can get caught in his throat. I love growing this every year and I save the seed heads to plant.