Grasses
Type | Botanical Name | Common Name | Description | Height | Light Req. | Zone | Add to My List |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grass | CALAMAGROSTIS brachytricha | Korean Feather Reed Grass | Fluffy tawny pink plumes in Sept. fade to tan. Great fall accent. Reseeds. |
3-4 feet | Sun | 4 | |
Grass | CALAMAGROSTIS x acutiflora ‘Avalanche’ | Feather Reed Grass | Attractive variegated cultivar with white-centered blades edged in green. |
4-5 feet | Sun | 4 | |
Grass | CALAMAGROSTIS x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ | Feather Reed Grass | Upright clump-forming habit with lasting summer flower plumes. |
4-5 feet | Sun | 4 | |
Grass | CAREX appalachica | Appalachian Sedge | Very fine hair-like foliage in a tidy arching clump. Excellent for dry shade. |
12-14 inches | Sun/Part Shade | 3 | |
Annual | CAREX buchananii ‘Firefox’ | Leatherleaf Sedge | Narrow copper-colored blades provide interest in containers. Will overwinter in Vermont with adequate snow cover. |
22-24 inches | 6 | ||
Grass | CAREX eburnea | Bristle Leaf Sedge | A petite grass that forms spherical mounds of fine green foliage. |
6-10 inches | Part Shade/Shade | 3 | |
Grass | CAREX elata ‘Bowles Golden’ | Golden Sedge | One of the best golden leaved “grasses”. Blades have a narrow green margin and fountain into an upright vase shape. Best in moist sites. |
16-18 inches | Sun/Part Shade | 4 | |
Grass | CAREX flacca ‘Blue Zinger’ | Blue Sedge | Mats of blue-gray narrow foliage are long-lived and adaptable. |
8-16 inches | Sun/Part Shade | 4 | |
Grass | CAREX morrowii ‘Ice Dance’ | Japanese Sedge | Semi-evergreen, grass-like foliage edged white. Dry shade tolerant. |
16-18 inches | Sun/Part Shade | 5 | |
Grass | CAREX muskingumensis ‘Little Midge’ | Dwarf Palm Sedge | An adorable dwarf form with bright green palm-like foliage. |
8-10 inches | Sun/Part Shade | 4 | |
Grass | CAREX muskingumensis ‘Oehme’ | Variegated Palm Sedge | Glossy green palm-like foliage with narrow gold edge. |
18-20 inches | Sun/Part Shade | 4 | |
Grass | CAREX oshimensis ‘Everglow’ | Evercolor Sedge | Cream edging of the evergreen, arching foliage becomes orange from autumn into the spring. Habit is compact and mounding. |
12-18 inches | 5 | ||
Grass | CAREX pensylvanica | Pennsylvania Sedge | A tough native grass with fine-textured, arching green foliage. |
8-10 inches | Part Shade/Shade | 3 | |
Grass | CAREX siderosticha ‘Banana Boat’ | Variegated Broad-leaved Sedge | One inch blades are banana yellow edged in green. Brightens up a shady spot! |
6-12 inches | Part Shade/Shade | 5 | |
Grass | CAREX siderosticha ‘Variegata’ | Variegated Broad-leaved Sedge | Deciduous sedge with wide blades of green with a pronounced cream edge. Excellent shade groundcover. |
14-16 inches | Sun/Part Shade | 4 | |
Grass | DESCHAMPSIA caespitosa ‘Goldgehaenge’ | Tufted Hair Grass | Evergreen tufts to 12″ with golden yellow inflorescences held above the foliage. |
30-36 inches | Sun/Part Shade | 3 | |
Grass | DESCHAMPSIA flexuosa | Wavy Hair Grass | This diminutive grass thrives in dry shade. Fine-textured and delicate in appearance, it is tough and drought tolerant In spring it is topped with graceful feathery flowers. |
12-14 inches | Part Shade | 4 | |
Grass | FESTUCA ‘Cool as Ice’ | Blue Fescue | Tufts of soft gray-green foliage turn blue in summer. Improved heat tolerance. Needs well-drained soil. |
12-18 inches | |||
Grass | FESTUCA glauca ‘Blue Whiskers’ | Blue Fescue | More vigorous than Festuca ‘Elijah Blue’ this cultivar has longer, brighter blue leaf blades. |
10-12 inches | Sun/Part Shade | 4 | |
Grass | HAKONECHLOA macra ‘All Gold’ | Japanese Forest Grass | A cultivar with bright metallic gold foliage and more upright habit. The reddish inflorescence in the fall adds color and grace. |
12-24 inches | Part Shade | 4 | |
Grass | HAKONECHLOA macra ‘Aureola’ | Japanese Forest Grass | Low, arching bamboo-like foliage of yellow with a green line. One of the best grasses for shade. Spreads slowly. |
12-14 inches | Part Shade | 4 | |
Grass | HAKONECHLOA macra ‘Sunflare’ | Japanese Forest Grass | A sport of H. ‘All Gold’ with chartreuse gold foliage tipped in crimson. Becomes more orange and burgundy in the fall. |
16-18 inches | Part Shade | ||
Grass | HELICTOTRICHON sempervirens | Blue Oat Grass | Spiny stiff foliage radiating from a central point forms an attractive blue clump. |
22-24 inches | Sun | 4 | |
Grass | JUNCUS inflexus Lovesick Blues’ | Blue Rush | Grass-like mounds of blue-gray triangular stems. Great for wet sites. Discovered at Plant Delights Nursery. |
12-14 inches | Sun | 4 | |
Grass | LUZULA sylvatica ‘Solar Flair’ | Greater Wood Rush | Excellent grass-like plant for shade. Semi-evergreen foliage is bright yellow-green. Prefers moisture, but will tolerate dryness. |
12-14 inches | Part Shade | ||
Grass | LUZULA sylvatica ‘Surprise’ | Greater Wood Rush | Grass-like shade plant with foliage variegated in cream. New shoots almost entirely white! Semi-evergreen. Prefers moist soils, but quite tolerant of drier conditions. |
12-14 inches | Part Shade | ||
Grass | MISCANTHUS floridulus ‘Giganteus’ | Giant Silver Grass | Impressive 8’-10′ grass with silver plumes in October. |
8-10 feet | Sun | 5 | |
Grass | MISCANTHUS sinensis ‘Purpurescens’ | Maiden Grass | Green foliage turns red at the end of summer. Plumes up early. Very hardy. |
4-6 feet | Sun | 4 | |
Grass | MOLINA arundinacea Skyracer’ | Purple Moor Grass | Dramatic tall grass with airy yellow-gold seed heads and gold foliage in fall. Plumes to 6 feet. |
4-6 feet | Sun | 4 | |
Grass | MOLINA caerulea ‘Moorhexe’ | Purple Moor Grass | Slender brownish-purple seedheads in late summer. Finely textured. Foliage turns golden in fall. |
30-36 inches | Sun | 4 | |
Grass | MOLINA caerulea ‘Strahlenquelle’ | Purple Moor Grass | Green foliage only grows to 24” tall, but the golden flower plumes spire to 48”. The whole plant turns gold in the fall. |
2-4 feet | Sun | 4 | |
Grass | MOLINA caerulea ‘Variegata’ | Variegated Moor Grass | Clumps of brightly variegated cream and green blades. Flowers attractive and plant looks good all season. One of our favorites. |
14-16 inches | Sun | 4 | |
Grass | PANICUM amarum ‘Dewey Blue’ | Blue Switch Grass | A selection of a tough, native switch grass with lovely glaucous blue foliage and vase-shaped habit. Airy tan plumes in late summer. Drought-tolerant. |
4-5 feet | Sun | 4 | |
Grass | PANICUM virgatum ‘Heavy Metal’ | Blue Switch Grass | Striking steel-blue foliage with reddish brown plumes in fall. Upright habit. |
3-4 feet | Sun | 4 | |
Grass | PANICUM virgatum ‘Shenandoah’ | Red Switch Grass | Red-tipped foliage appears in spring followed by reddish-pink flower panicles in summer. Foliage deepens to burgundy in the fall. |
2-4 feet | Sun | 4 | |
Grass | PANICUM virgatum ‘Thundercloud’ | Switch Grass | A large cultivar with a strong upright habit. Pinkish-tan panicles over blue-green foliage. |
6-8 feet | Sun | 4 | |
Annual | PENNISETUM purpureum ‘Vertigo’ | Red Fountain Grass | An upright form with wide, deep green foliage that matures to dark purple. Large and dramatic! |
4-8 feet | Tropical | ||
Annual | PENNISETUM setaceum ‘Fireworks’ | Red Fountain Grass | A variegated form of red fountain grass with dark green blades stiped pink to dark purple. |
2-4 feet | Sun/Part Shade | Tropical | |
Annual | PENNISETUM setaceum ‘Rubrum’ | Red Fountain Grass | Striking burgundy grass with rosy plumes. Lasts well into fall. |
2-3 feet | Sun/Part Shade | Tropical | |
Grass | SCHIZACHYRIUM scoparium ‘Blue Heaven’ | Little Bluestem | An improved selection with a more upright habit. Steel blue foliage highlighted with purple turns colorful shades of orange, red, pink and purple in the fall. Flower panicles are a glossy purple. |
42-54 inches | Sun | 3 | |
Grass | SCHIZACHYRIUM scoparium ‘Standing Ovation’ | Little Bluestem | A thick-stemmed form that will not flop. Blue foliage turns red and orange in the fall. |
3-4 feet | Sun | 3 | |
Grass | SPODIOPOGON sibiricus | Silver Spike Grass | Dark green bamboo-like foliage topped by silver spikes Jul-Oct. Strong horizontal lines. Red fall foliage if grown in full sun. |
4-6 feet | Sun | 3 | |
Grass | SPOROBOLUS heterolepis | Prairie Dropseed | Fine-textured arching green blades form attractive mounds. Orange fall color. Seed heads in airy panicles. |
20-22 inches | Sun | 3 |