Terrific Ornamental Grass For Your Garden

27 Oct,2023

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Frost grass brings a bamboo-like look to the garden with horizontal leaves, which take on purple to burgundy tints in fall. Plants grow 4 to 5 feet tall. Give this grass sun to light shade in fertile, well-drained soil on the moist side.

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Frost Grass

‘Northwind’ combines classic switch grass color of olive- to blue-green leaves with a narrow footprint to create a strong, tall grass clump. Leaves top out around 4 to 6 feet. Flower plumes appear in midsummer, bringing the total height to 7 feet. Plumes linger through winter. 

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‘Northwind’ Switch Grass

You'll recognize this ornamental millet, Pennisetum glaucum 'Purple Majesty,' by its large, cattail-like plumes and dark purple foliage. Use this All-American Selections Gold Medal Winner for cut flowers, as a backdrop for shorter plants or in large, mixed containers.

Pennisetum glaucum 'Purple Majesty' Ornamental Millet

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Need a grass for wet soil? Check out ‘Karl Foerster’. This feather reed grass forms tight clumps 12 to 18 inches wide with leaves 3 to 5 feet tall. Seedheads emerge in early summer and take the plant height to 6 feet. Flower plumes start purple-green and ripen to gold in autumn. 

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‘Karl Foerster’ Feather Reed Grass

Silky pink flower plumes appear on grass clumps in late summer and linger all winter long. Pampas grass needs room in the landscape—clumps grow 5 to 12 feet tall and 4 to 7 feet wide. This grass has razor sharp edges. Always wear long sleeves and gloves when working around it. This grass is invasive in some areas. 

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‘Feather Pink’ Pampas Grass

Blue Heaven forms tight, tall clumps filled with steel blue leaves. Plants grow to 4 feet, with flower plumes adding another foot to overall height. Reddish-brown flowers transform into silver-white heads that linger into early winter. Leaves turn burgundy in fall.

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Blue Heaven Little Bluestem 

‘Indian Warrior’ is a hybrid of native big bluestem grass, which was the predominant plant in the American tallgrass prairie. Plants top out at 5 to 6 feet and thrive in any soil but wet. Flower stalks appear in late summer and linger into winter. Leaves develop smoky purple tints in fall, ripening to purple-red. 

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‘Indian Warrior’ Big Bluestem

Grow this grass to bring a menagerie to your yard. Upright, stiff leaves mimic the quills of a porcupine, while horizontal gold bands give green leaves a zebra effect. Coppery pink flowers don’t appear until fall, so if frost arrives early in your region, you may never see this grass bloom. Winter foliage is dusky brown. 

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Porcupine Grass

Green and white variegated leaves form a 4- to 5-foot fountain in this ornamental grass. The variegated pattern in leaves is such that, from a distance, the grass appears mostly white. It sparkles when planted against dark evergreens. Pink flower plumes appear in late summer and linger into winter.

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‘Dixieland’ Maiden Grass

Powder-blue leaves turn yellow in fall, fading to brown for winter. ‘Prairie Sky’ has a strongly columnar form, growing 4 to 6 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide. Flowers open in dark red in midsummer and linger until midwinter in beige shades. This grass may self-sow. 

Credit: Google Images

‘Prairie Sky’ Switchgrass