25 Ornamental Grasses for Adding Tons of Texture to Your Garden

These beautiful ornamental grasses can provide four seasons of involvement in any landscape .

Wispy decorative grasses are among the most versatile plants in a landscape . They launch the gamut from hulk over your head to just a few inches tall . Some eccentric need plenty of sun while othergrasses do n’t mind a little shade . There are even cosmetic grasses that offer four seasons of involvement . These top picks are some of the best grasses for landscaping your yard . You ’ll peculiarly love how they await and sound when rustling gently in a duck soup .

Many decorative smoke have a tendency to scarper garden and outcompete aboriginal species in natural areas . Even native grasses can become weedy in the right precondition . It ’s a good musical theme to match if a eccentric of ornamental locoweed is considered invasive in your area before imbed it .

Fiber Opticgrass Isolepis cernua

Credit: Richard Felber

Blue Fescue

A shortsighted grassperfect for march or as a groundcover , aristocratic fescue(Festuca glauca)offers powder - blue leafage on kempt , dwarf mounds . Light green flowers with a purple tinge appear in panicles above the foliage in recent springiness to former summertime . One of the most authentic performing artist is ' Elijah Blue ' .

Growing consideration : Full Sunday or part shade and well - drain soil

sizing : To 1 foot tall

Blue Fescue Festuca glauca

Credit: Martin Tessler

Zones:4 - 8

Fountain Grass

Give your borders , foot , and open areas added texture , colour and contrast withfountain grass(Pennisetum alopecuroides).Thisbeautiful , mound industrial plant has a graceful frame , plus gentle , feathery plume that trip the light fantastic in the breeze . If you ’re look for excellent capitulation color , look for ' Cassian ’s Choice ' , a midget variety that put up dusky browned flowers and gold downslope foliage with red tints .

Growing Conditions : Full Lord’s Day and well - drain soil

sizing : To 5 feet tall

Fountaingrass Pennisetum alopecuroides

Credit: Marty Baldwin

Zones:5 - 9

Little Bluestem

It ’s voiceless not to marvel at the lilac-colored - blue color on the stem foundation oflittle bluestem(Schizachyrium scoparium).Thistough - as - nails prairie nativewas one of the prevailing grasses of the huge tallgrass prairie region which once covered many parts of fundamental North America . The leafage deform shade of bronze - Orange River in the drop . Look forward to seeing purple - bronze flush rise above the foliage in August followed by clustering of silvery - white come drumhead hang on into wintertime .

Size : To 4 feet tall

Zones:3 - 9

Little Bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium

Credit: John Reed Forsman

Switchgrass

Another North American prairie indigene , switchgrass(Panicum virgatum)offers airy plumes in late summer and fall . Use it as a privacy screen at the edge of a pool or as an accent mark in prominent decorative container . Many varieties ( such as ' Dallas Blues ' ) offer blue - grey foliation during the time of year and turn over brilliant shade of amber or red ink in autumn .

sizing : To 6 ft tall

Zones:4 - 9

Switchgrass Panicum virgatum

Credit: Peter Krumhardt

Reed Grass

Add an fantabulous vertical accent to your borders with reed Gunter Wilhelm Grass . These grass make large clod of minute , flattened green leaves from which rise vertical bloom still hunt bearing narrow flower plums . expect for ' Karl Foerster’feather reed grass(Calamagrostisxacutiflora)—it ’s known for its tall , bright green leaves and yellowish brown - colour plumes that stay just through most of the wintertime .

Blue Oat Grass

It ’s tough to beatblue oat grass(Helictotrichon sempervirens)for alow - upkeep plantwith brand - blue color . It also has a sizeable mounded habit and wo n’t spread and take over your garden . pricker of bluish - brown blossom look above the foliage in summer and mature to a golden wheat colouring material by fall .

sizing : To 3 feet tall

Hakone Grass

Peter Krumhardt

Here ’s the tincture - large-minded grass that you ’ve been look for . The low - spring up species , also bang asJapanese forest grass(Hakonechloa macra)has a nearly - perfect mounding habit . Variegated option such as ' Aureola ' or ' All Gold ' havebrightly colour foliagethat light up funny corners .

produce Conditions : Part shade and well - enfeeble soil

Feather Reed grass Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’

Credit: Bryan E. McCay

Purple Millet

An incredibly tough annual weed , purple millet(Pennisetum glaucum)offers fantastical burgundy foliage and rich purplish heyday heads that look like fuzzycattails . The plants look striking in a landscape painting andattract bird . Look for ' Purple Majesty ' , a compact pick with majestic root word , leaves , and flower head .

Zones:2 - 11

Prairie Cordgrass

Grow prairie cordgrass ( Spartina pectinata)along the side of a pool or streamfor habitat restoration and preservation . Theunderutilized perennial plantis a propagate eatage that thrives in moist or stiff soil . Its shrill edges will make you require to wear glove when work with it .

grow Conditions : Full sun and moist soil

Size : To 7 feet improbable

Blue Oatgrass Helictotrichon sempervirens

Credit: Charles Mann

Fiber Optic Grass

get wind the strange tender perennialfiber optic grass(Isolepis cernua)that ’s often farm as an annual . It has a o.k. grain and low , mounding habit that is stark for container garden . You ’ll love Its moplike tuft of fine dark-green stem that are extremely thick and have a spilling form . Since it stay compact , it ’s also a good choice forgardening in small outer space .

grow Conditions : Full sunshine or part shade and dampish grime

size of it : To 6 inch tall

Japanese hakone forestgrass along fence near path

Credit:Peter Krumhardt

Zones:10 - 11 ( usually grown as an yearly in colder zone )

Maiden Grass

One of the most common ornamental grasses , maiden grass(Miscanthus sinensis)is magnanimous , beautiful , and easy to spring up . Also known as Formosan silver gage , this grass offers narrow-minded , arching foliage and silvery plumes . Toadd more colour to your landscape , reckon for variegated selection such as ' Dixieland ' .

Growing consideration : Full sun and moist , well - drain soil

Size : To 8 feet marvellous

Purple Millet Pennisetum glaucum

Credit: Peter Krumhardt

Maiden grass is deliberate an trespassing speciesacross much of the eastern United States . It is also increase attack risks in invaded areas . Check your state ’s encroaching flora list before planting this Gunter Wilhelm Grass . Even cultivars bluster as uninventive have been constitute to raise workable seed in trials .

Purple Fountain Grass

Add eye - grab coloring to your yard withpurple fountain grass(Pennisetum setaceum’Purpureum ' ) . It ’s a favorite of nurseryman everywhere because of its burgundy - red foliage all season long . Its flossy , bottlebrush - corresponding flower spike arch upward and outward above the foliage in summer . This supply ship perennial isoften used in container gardens .

Zones:9 - 10 ( grown as an yearly in cooler climates )

Ravenna Grass

Iftall perennialsinterest you , ravenna grass ( genus Saccharum ravennae ) is one of the largest and most striking of the moth-eaten - hardy ornamental grasses . This massive , fast - grow flora sends up purplish - bronze feather that turn to silver - gray in the surrender . Its gray - green folio blade develop orange tones in autumn .

Size : To 12 feet marvellous

Ravenna grass is considered invasive in a few westerly statesand has been found overspread aggressively across many area of the country , so ensure to hold in your state ’s incursive industrial plant list before implant .

Cord grass Spartina pectinata

Credit: Stephen Cridland

Northern Sea Oats

Shade tolerantNorthern ocean oats(Chasmanthium latifolium)ofers interesting cum heads , which dangle off the stem and depend like oat - same spikelets . The softest of child’s play will flutter the seed promontory that come forth green and turn a vivacious Au in autumn . rise it as an accent in your M and expend its spikelets for fresh ordried arrangements .

Zones:3 - 8

This grass is a fast broadcaster , so plant in a container or other spot that will keep it in boundary .

Maiden grass Miscanthus sinensis

Credit: John Reed Forsman

Purple Moor Grass

The versatility of purple moor grass(Molinia caerulea)is appealing for many gardeners . Whether you choose to institute it as an accent , in a border , or around pond , its see - through calibre is a positive dimension . In fall , its mound immature foliage turns golden yellow and its light-green and white flowers fade to beige and brown . This grass is a respectable choice forpartially shaded gardenswith cool summer climates .

Zones:5 - 8

Tufted Hair Grass

bet on the mood , tufted hair grass(Deschampsia cespitosa)is an evergreen grass with airy , hairlike - textured plumes in subtlety of golden , flatware , purple , and green . The plant has an attractive mounding drug abuse as well . This nerveless - season grower prefer moist home ground , like shores , meadows , and damp woodlands .

Growing stipulation : Full sun to part subtlety and moist , well - drained soil

Dwarf Pampas Grass

' Pumila ' is a dwarfpampas grass(Cortaderia selloana ) that germinate showy white flower plumes in the late summer and fall . Use it in the back of the border where you’re able to enjoy the huge flower head all wintertime long . Like standard pampas grass , this dwarf variety can become invasive , so found it where its roots ca n’t spread . Be careful when handle thisdrought - tolerant plantbecause its leaf blade are extremely sharp .

sizing : to 6 base marvelous

Zones:6 - 10

purple fountain grass in garden

Credit: Andreas Trauttmansdorff

Pampas grass is known to invade sandy , moist ditch coin bank across several western commonwealth . It has the ability to form dense stands that chokes out aboriginal species and can quickly become a fire hazard .

Big Bluestem

aboriginal to the American prairie , big bluestem(Andropogon gerardii)is a tall , well-favored grass that accommodate easy to any landscape . In the springtime , the foliage of big blue stem depart out blue - green , gradually turn green with hint of Red River and finally changing to reddish - bronze in the descent . The plantsgrow well in moistor dry soil . This locoweed can be slow to take hold but will finally form large , vertical clumps that are good for erosion restraint .

Size : Up to 6 feet marvelous

Mexican Feather Grass

Even the slightest picnic will cause the soft flower stalks and slender leaves of Mexican feather grass(Nassella tenuissima)to dance delightfully on the fart . This graceful locoweed thrives in poor ground and tolerates dry conditions . It looks terrific planted in container or scatter on a meadow or slope . Mexican feather sens is a good selection for wearing ascendency .

Mexican feather grass is take invasive in parts of California .

Indian Grass

Dean Schoeppner

Count onIndian grass(Sorghastrum nutans)to be an first-class erect dialect for your borders or an effective solution forerosion control on slope . This pot once dominated the tallgrass prairie which covered large parts of the Midwest . Its blue - green foliage turns orange - yellowness in fall and retain its hint of color into the winter . The semen in its light brown bloom panicle are especially attractive to hoot .

Pink Muhly Grass

Rob Cardillo

Pink muhly grass(Muhlenbergia capillaris),also known as pink tomentum grass , attain a OK - textured gain to recurrent borders orcottage garden . This cosmetic grass has dark green clippety-clop leafage . It blooms in the gloaming with good deal of airy pink to pinkish - reddened flower panicles .

raise condition : Full sun to part ghost and well - run out ground

Ravenna grass Saccharum ravennae

Credit: Richard Felber

Zones:5 - 11

Prairie Dropseed

Bob Stefko

Prairie dropseed(Sporobolus heterolepis ) is a exquisitely - textured aboriginal grass that search well planted in belittled grouping or in larger masses . The seedheads , which draw chick , develop in late summer . The softly - arching light-green leaf turns orangish and yellowed in downfall .

produce consideration : Full sun to part shade and well - debilitate land

Northern Sea Oats Chasmanthium latifolium

Credit: John Reed Forsman

Zones : 3 - 9

Canada Wild Rye

cater class - roundfood and shelter for birdswithCanada wild rye ( Elymuscanadensis).Birds love to eat the seeds and rely on the leafage to make nest . This tight - growing , abruptly - lived recurrent dope has beautiful , wind cum heads that front like cultivate rye whisky spikes . When there ’s a breeze , these sickly spikes bob and sway , living up to this plant ’s other common name — nod wild rye .

Bottlebrush Grass

Teresa Otto / Getty Images

Add grain to yourwoodland gardenwith bottlebrush grass ( Elymushystrix).This aboriginal grass is known for its bristly flower heads that resemble bottle brush . Opening leafy vegetable , then mature to embrown in late summer , the flower heads remain attractive into autumn . This is one of the few ornamental grasses that has adapt to dry out ghost conditions .

Liriope

Also called monkey grass orlilyturf(Liriope spicata ) , genus Liriope is n’t actually a true pasturage but a penis of the lily family . However , its middling mounding , grasslike leaf has a similar effect in a garden . As anexcellent ground cover , liriope thrives in Lord’s Day or tad and help control erosion on outrageous slopes . The industrial plant send up spike of lavender , purple , or white flowers in late summer , be by blueish - black , berrylike fruit .

Size : To 17 inches grandiloquent

Zones:4 - 10

Purple Moor grass Molinia caerulea

Credit: Mike Jensen

genus Liriope spicatais considered invasive in some areas of the southeastern United States .

Frequently Asked Questions

Ornamental grasses should be plant in the springtime or early fall . Planting in the spring will give your grasses ample fourth dimension to install a strong root system before wintertime atmospheric condition kicks in . Inwarmer neighborhood — where winters are less severe — you’re able to hold back subsequently into the fall to plant but just be sure to plant at least six to eight calendar week before the first frost get in for the safe upshot .

With most decorative smoke , it ’s best to wait until previous wintertime or other springiness to cut back them back . The benefit of wait until spring is twofold : you could enjoy the visual interestingness the grasses add to your winter garden while also supply food and tax shelter for chick . Come fountain , before the fresh shoots begin to show , use a sturdy pair of shears or a hedgerow trimmer to cut off the dead foliage approximately 3 to 5 inch from the ground .

https://www.invasiveplantatlas.org/subject.html?sub=3052 #

Hairgrass