Ornamental Grasses

By Audrey Gillespie

“Low-maintenance” is usually at the top of most homeowners’ wish list for their landscapes. Typically only needing one good hair-cut a year, ornamental grasses fit the bill nicely. Fall is the time of year for most of them to shine, too. Drive around and see how beautiful ornamental grasses can be. The bank on the corner of S. 14^th and S. Willis is a great example of the beauty, grace, and movement grasses can lend a garden bed.

Drive around to see for yourself how others are using grasses to beautify their landscapes. Unlike most other perennial plants, spring is the best time for planting. You can use the time now to plan and to prepare the soil for planting. Tilling in three inches of organic compost will improve any kind of soil, as will adding a three-inch layer of mulch as a top dressing.

Ornamental grasses come in a variety of sizes and shapes and an impressive array of colors. Let me introduce you to a few:

•  Pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana) is a really BIG plant, probably too big for most home landscapes, but the plumes are absolutely breath-taking in the summer and fall. There is also a dwarf variety, ‘Pumila’, that is better-suited to more home landscapes. Keep in mind that the individual blades of grass are extremely sharp.
  

  Pampas Grass located on the west side of the Taylor County Expo Center

   

• Lindheimer muhly (Muhlenbergia lindheimeri) is one of my favorite grasses for mixed borders. It makes a beautiful blue-green mound around 3’ tall most of the year and sends up beautiful flowering stems another 2’ above the foliage in the fall. These persist and add interest to the winter garden.
  

  Lindheimer Muhly (a.k.a. "Big Muhly") planted on a sloped raised bed at the Abilene Zoo.

  
  

• Gulf or Pink muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaries) is a shorter version of the above with beautiful pink plumes in the fall.
  

  Gulf Muhly (pink - center of photo) with Hameln Grass in the foreground. These grasses are located at Frontier Texas.

   

  

  Gulf Muhly (pink – foreground) at Cisco College

   

• Bamboo muhly (Muhlenbergia dumosa) is yet another wonderful grass in the same genus. This cultivar grows to about four feet and resembles a finely textured bamboo. As an extra bonus, all three of these Muhlenbergia grasses are Texas natives.
• Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) is another native Texas beauty. This is a large grass with an upright form to 5’ or more. It is also called turkey foot because of the shape of the inflorescences. The foliage turns a beautiful copper color in the winter.
  

  Big Bluestem - Photo by John Snowden - Bluestem Nursery

• Maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Gracilimus’) is a gorgeous, 6-8’ tall grass with a graceful arching habit. Variegated Miscanthus varieties include Zebra grass (‘Zebrinus’) and Porcupine grass (‘Strictus’).
• Sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula) is the state grass of Texas. It grows from 1-3’ tall and has a unique flower spike that looks like, yes, oats.
  

  Sideoats Gramma - Photo by John Snowden - Bluestem Nursery

• Lemon grass (Cymbopogon) is actually an annual grass that is used as an herb. It grows around 4’ tall and does not look particularly impressive, but the lower stem and root is strongly lemon-scented and excellent for herbed oils and vinegars.
• Purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’) is, unfortunately, an annual grass in the Big Country. I gladly buy several each spring so that I can enjoy the unique beauty and color. It also stays a very manageable size, around 4’.
• Blue fescue (Festuca glauca) is a small, mounded blue-gray plant that blends well at the front of a border.
• Inland sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) is, unlike all the other grasses mentioned, very shade-tolerant. It grows to about 2’ and has attractive bamboo-like foliage. It is also a Texas native.
  

  Inland Sea Oats with Mexican Bush Sage in the background at Frontier Texas

This is by no means a comprehensive list, but it should be enough to whet your appetite. The only caveat would be to locate ornamental grasses away from your house as a precaution in case of fire. Otherwise, plant and enjoy!

If you have a question you would like a master gardener to answer, you can call the Taylor County AgriLife Extension Office at 325-672-6048 or fill out the form on our website. Beginning November 10, the Big Country Master Gardener Association is planning to have a booth at each Thursday ArtWalk in downtown Abilene. We will also be present at the Civic Center on November 11-13 for Christmas in November. Come by and chat.

We are nearing the end of most garden activities for the year, so happy gardening now and happy dreams of next year’s gardens!