Grasses
Type | Botanical Name | Native | Common Name | Description | Height | Light Req. | Zone | Add to My List |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grass | ANDROPOGON gerardii ‘Red October’ | Big Bluestem | Foliage starts deep green with some red highlights, as the season progresses the color becomes more and more red increasing to deep burgundy. Late season brings fluffy flower heads that are shades of red. |
5-6 feet | Full sun | 3 | ||
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 acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ | Feather Reed Grass | Upright clump-forming habit with lasting summer flower plumes. |
4-5 feet | Sun | 4 | ||
Grass | CALAMAGROTIS ‘Cheju-Do’ | Dwarf Feather Reed Grass | Clump-forming upright ornamental grass reaching only about 2 feet high and 3 feet wide with flower spikes about 4 feet high. Bright green leaves and golden flowers that are visible in summer; cozy pinkish amber hues in autumn. Durable and undemanding. Attracts birds. Great winter interest. Deer resistant. |
4 feet | Sun/Part Shade | 5 | ||
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 | ||
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 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 | Sun/Part Shade | 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 ‘Silver Scepter’ | Sedge | Narrow leaves with a white edge forms dense clumps that look very silvery in the shade where they are happiest. Makes a wonderful spreading ground cover. |
10-12 inches | Full Sun/Part Shade | 5 | ||
Grass | CHASMANTHIUM latifolium | Northern Sea Oats | Tolerant of poor soils, but prefers moist, fertile, well-drained soils. One of the more shade tolerant of the ornamental grasses. Self-seeds and may spread aggressively. Seed heads emerge green but turn purplish bronze by late summer. Bright green leaves turn coppery after frost and eventually brown by winter. Nice for dried flower arrangements. Leave foliage in […] |
2-5 feet | Full Sun/Part Shade | 3 | ||
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 caespitosa ‘Pixie Fountain’ | Tufted Hair Grass | A dwarf form with features similar to others, only smaller! |
12-14 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 cinerea ‘Elijah Blue’ | Blue Fescue | Lovely tufts of blue foliage. Holds color all summer. Considered one of the best blue fescues. Deer and drought tolerant |
6-8 inches | Sun | 4 | ||
Grass | FESTUCA glauca ‘Blue Whiskers’ | Blue Fescue | More vigorous than Festuca ‘Elijah Blue’ this cultivar has longer, brighter blue leaf blades. Deer and drought tolerant |
10-12 inches | Sun/Part Shade | 4 | ||
Grass | HAKONECHLOA macra ‘Albovariegata’ | Japanese Forest Grass | Elegant, slow growing, graceful mounds of narrow rich green leaves with slim bands of creamy white. Clay tolerant. Slow-spreading but long-lived. |
1-2 feet | Part Shade | 5 | ||
Grass | HAKONECHLOA macra “All Gold’ | Japanese Forest Grass | Graceful, bright golden-yellow foliage that mellows in fall and has the effect of a tiny bamboo. Low maintenance and long-lived, but spread slowly. |
12-18 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 | 5 | ||
Grass | HELICTOTRICTON sempervirens ‘Saphire’ | Blue Oat Grass | A larger alternative to Festuca glauca. Ornamental narrow blue leaf blades form a clump. Flower spikelets mature to a golden wheat color by fall. Best blue color occurs in dryish soils. Deer/drought tolerant. |
2-3 feet | Sun | 4 | ||
Grass | JUNCUS effusus ‘Big Twister’ | Giant Corkscew Rush | Cool, spiraling foliage, like corkscrews. Dramatic and sure to attract attention. Needs very moist to wet conditions. |
18-24 inches | Sun | 5 | ||
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 | ||
Annual | MELINIS nerviglumis ‘Pink Crystals’ | Ruby Grass | Tender grass with erect blue-green leaves and panicles of rose-hued summer flowers that fade to white. Flower panicles are covered with silky hairs. Foliage turns purple-red in fall. |
18-24 inches | Sun | Tropical | ||
Grass | MISCANTHUS floridulus ‘Giganteus’ | Giant Silver Grass | Impressive 8’-10′ grass with silver plumes in October. |
8-10 feet | Sun | 5 | ||
Grass | MISCANTHUS purpurascens ‘Autumn Red’ | Flame Grass | Showing fantastic fall color of brilliant orange and red tones. The seeds heads that appear in late summer also take on bright colors which are gorgeous when backlit in fall. Attracts birds Deer resistant Drought and poor soil tolerant |
4-6 feet | Full Sun/Part Shade | 4 | ||
Grass | MOLINIA 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 | MOLINIA 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 | ||
Annual | OPHIOPOGON planiscapus ‘Ebony Knight’ | Mondo Grass | Purple-black leaf blades and nodding pink bell-flowers that produce bluish-black berries on a slowly spreading clump. Great as contrast in containers or as a houseplant. Some reports of hardiness to zone 5 with protection. |
5-6 inches | Sun/Part Shade | 6 | ||
Grass | PANICUM virgatum ‘Ruby Ribbons’ | Red Switch Grass | Metallic blue foliage with red overtones turns a beautiful wine-red as the weather cools. |
4-6 feet | Sun | 4 | ||
Grass | PANICUM virgatum ‘Cheyenne Sky’ | Red Switch Grass | Vase shaped form and wine-red foliage in late summer along with deep red flowers spikes makes this grass stand out! |
36-42 inches | 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 ‘Northwind’ | Switch Grass | Wide olive-green foliage makes a strong vertical accent topped in September with narrow plumes. |
4-5 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 | ||
Grass | PANICUM virgatum ‘Trailblazer’ | Switch Grass | Larger, showier seed heads on this graceful new cultivar. Sheer red-tinted flower clusters wave good-bye to summer as blue-green blades turn to a blaze of old golds and maroons that promise to brighten your autumn and maintain a winter presence. Attracts birds |
4-5 feet | Full sun | 5 | ||
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 | Sun/Part Shade | Tropical | ||
Annual | PENNISETUM advena ‘Rubrum’ | Red Fountain Grass | Striking burgundy grass with rosy plumes. Lasts well into fall. |
2-3 feet | Sun/Part Shade | Tropical | ||
Grass | SCHIZACHYRIUM scoparium ‘Carousel’ | Little Bluestem | A more upright, broad-based bluestem with gray-green foliage transitioning to pink, copper and mahogany in the fall. |
24-30 inches | Sun | 3 | ||
Grass | SCHIZACHYRIUM scoparium ‘Smoke Signal’ | Little Bluestem | Upright blue-green foliage turns scarlet in late summer deepening to red purple through the fall. |
3-4 feet | Sun/Part Shade | 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 | SCHIZACHYRIUM scoparium ‘Twilight Zone’ | Little Bluestem | Blue-green foliage begins to turn to purple in midsummer and deepens further in the fall. Habit is upright and narrow. |
48-54 inches | Sun/Part Shade | 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 |