If you’re looking to improve the curb appeal of your home, landscaping with ornamental grasses should be on your to-do list. Unlike short turf that can only serve as groundcovers, these grasses are versatile, and beautiful, and can provide a habitat for both wildlife and pollinators.
Besides, tall grasses can serve as a privacy screen, be grouped as a focal point in your front yard, and spice up your garden in companion with other perennials.
This is because their distinct features such as varied heights (long and short), forms (spreading and compact), colors, and varieties give you options to diversify and contrast plants in your landscape.
All you have to do is choose grasses that suit your specific needs. In today’s post, I’ll be sharing the most sought-after non-invasive ornamental grasses to grow in full sun, shade, or containers.
Furthermore, I’ve listed a few more that are invasive and should be avoided at all costs lest they take over your yard.
Caution: Keep in mind that while a certain type of grass might be considered non-invasive in one state, it may have the potential to be invasive in another and vice versa. Therefore, if you’re unsure, please consult your local extension office.
Tall Grasses for Privacy
Purple fountain grass and other perennials for privacy screen
Purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum')
The purple fountain grass is an ornamental grass used in the landscape for its reddish foliage and showy purple-pink flowers. The leaves of this 3- to 4-foot-tall plant are narrow, curving, linear blades with a beautiful red cast.
This grass can grow and thrive in zones 9 through 11.
New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax)
This is an evergreen, clump-forming tender perennial that is grown for its attractive foliage, as well as its beautiful red-burgundy flowers. The flowers are very effective in attracting hummingbirds.
Because of its striking height and dense form, New Zealand flax is a suitable candidate for privacy screens but can also grow suitably in containers, thriving in zones 9a through 11b.
Eulalia grass (Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light’)
Eulalia grass has a spreading habit of dense clumps and erect stems with arching linear leaves. The foliage has very narrow green leaves with white bands along each margin. It grows upright from 3 to 6 feet tall and spreads 2.5 to 3 feet in a rounded clump of foliage.
It produces reddish-copper flowers that turn fluffy silvery white or cream. This grass is also known as Japanese silver grass and grows well in zones 5 through 9.
Unlike its popular cousin M. sinensis 'Gracillimus,’ Morning light is somewhat less invasive.
Hardy Clumping Bamboo (Bambusoideae)
I learned later on in my horticultural career that bamboo is a type of grass which took me by surprise.
While running bamboo (Bambusa spp. or Phyllostachys spp.) provides a serene privacy screen or a beautiful grove to walk through, it’s an invasive grass with a complex, horizontal root system called rhizomes that aggressively spread underground, as much as 15 feet.
However, one can still get the benefits of landscaping with hardy-clumping bamboo and can thrive in zones 8 to 10.
When planting this type of bamboo for screening purposes, ensure they’re close together since the base is always narrower than the top canopy.
Full Sun Grasses
Twilight Zone Grass growing in full sun. Image: Walters Gardens
Twilight Zone (Schizachyrium scoparium ‘Twilight Zone’)
Developed by Walters Gardens Schizachyrium scoparium ‘Twilight Zone' (Little Bluestem Grass) is a stunning native grass selection with iridescent, silvery-blue foliage and hints of purple, which become especially pronounced in mid to late summer.
The grass retains its beautiful tones through fall when brighter purple highlights appear on the flower stems. Furthermore, the attractive foliage forms a strictly upright, narrow columnar clump that is about half as wide as it is tall.
Twilight zone grass thrives in hardiness zones 3 up to 9.
Blue fescue (Festuca ovina glauca)
Blue fescue is a small semi-evergreen grass native to Europe.
Grown as an ornamental for its attractive foliage color, it is hardy in zones 4-8. Fescues are cool-season grasses so they look their best in spring and fall.
The foliage is a light blue-silver early in the season, turning to more blue-green in the summer. In fall, it turns a darker mottled green. In mild climates, it will remain evergreen through the winter but may turn brown in harsher winters.
You can this grass in borders mixed with other herbaceous perennials as it’s not as showy as other grasses.
Blue oat grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens, Avena candida)
Also known as Avena sempervirens, blue oat grass is a perennial, ornamental grass that has attractive thin gray-green, or blue leaves.
Leaf blades grow to about 12 inches long, are 0.5 inches wide, and taper to a fine point. Plants grow 18 to 30 inches tall. The glaucous foliage provides an exciting contrast to a green border.
This ornamental grass thrives in zones 5 through 8.
Egyptian Papyrus (Cyperus papyrus)
While the Egyptian papyrus is considered a type of grass, it’s actually a sedge with a long history not necessarily ornamental but rather as a writing material.
However, it is an attractive ornamental plant suitable for decorating water pools and other wet areas. It thrives well in full sun in areas with zones 9 and below.
Pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana)
Pampas grass is an attractive ornamental grass that is popular in many landscapes. It enjoys full sun and with the right conditions, it can become enormous quite fast. Therefore, you should plant the grass where there’s enough room for growth especially if you’re planting several of them.
This grass is hardy in zones 7 through 11.
Note: Pampas grass is considered invasive in some regions because of its adaptability and aggressive growth. Although there’s no consensus on its degree of invasiveness, you should conduct due diligence before planting.
Shade Tolerating Grasses
Pink Muhly Grass glittering in the morning sun. Image: Floweralley
Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra)
We all have that shadowy spot in our yards or landscape that never seems to receive sufficient sunlight. Luckily, there are many plants and trees that can easily grow in those conditions and Japanese forest grass is one of them.
It’s an ornamental, shade-loving, deciduous perennial grass with dense, arching, spreading, cascading mounds that serve as a ground cover.
The grass is hardy in zones 8 and 9 and therefore, dies back during winter.
Pink Hair Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris).
Also known as Pink Muhly grass or sweetgrass, Pink hair, is a clump-forming, warm season, perennial grass that is noted for its attractive summer foliage and spectacular clouds of fall flowers.
Fall flowering distinguishes this grass from the rest. Masses of airy, open, loosely branched inflorescences (each to 12” long) in pink to pinkish-red float above the foliage in a lengthy fall bloom.
While it has some aspects of shade tolerance, this grass grows best in full sun in zones 5 to 11.
River oats (Chasmanthium latifolium)
In its natural habitat, river oat grass is found growing beneath the tree cover. No wonder it’s a winner when it comes to adaptability in growing under different conditions including shade tolerance.
It usually grows between 2 and 4 feet tall. Its leaves are rather broad, up to an inch across in width. They remain broad and then taper sharply to a point. There is a ligule, and it is made up of short hairs.
When the new growth emerges in the spring, look for bright green and broad leaves.
Best Grasses to Grow in Pots
Fiber Optic Grass in a Pot. Image Credit: Cocoonhome
Purple Fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum')
The purple fountain grass is an ornamental grass used in the landscape for its reddish foliage and showy purple-pink flowers.
Also used for creating a natural privacy screen as seen above.
Fiber optic grass (Isolepis cernua)
Fiber optic grass is another sedge that you can grow near a pool or pond but most especially, in containers.
This grass is a variable evergreen species with a mop-like tuft of fine green stems that grows as dramatic as a water fountain with ‘flowing’ tips.
It has small flower spikes at the stem tips reminiscent of those fiber optic lamps, hence the common name.
Ruby grass (Melinis nerviglumis)
This ornamental grass is also known as Melinis ‘Pink Champagne’ grass.
It’s a small but showy grass with lush blue-green foliage that turns to purple-red in fall. The plants form dense, mounded clumps 8 to 24 inches tall. The wiry, rolled leaves grow in tufts within the clumps.
In the summer, soft, fuzzy pink panicles about six inches long are produced on stems up to two feet tall.
Invasive Ornamental Grasses to Avoid
Miscanthus sinensis an example of invasive grasses. Image: Jim Robbins
Hardy pampas grass (Tripidium ravennae)
Also called Ravenna or plume grass, hardy Pampas grass has an upright and open habit, with linear leaves that have sharp edges.
Because of its aggressive growth, it requires a lot of space.
Chinese silvergrass (Miscanthus sinensis)
Despite its popularity in landscapes, most cultivars of Miscanthus are quite evasive except for Miscanthus sinensis 'Zebrinus' Zebra grass and ‘Morning light’ which are less invasive and grow well in full sun.
With a variety of other options available, it’s best to avoid to avoid grasses in this genus.
Other Invasive grasses include; Black fountaingrass (Cenchrus purpurascens), Bamboo (Bambusa spp. or Phyllostachys spp.), and Japanese bloodgrass (Imperata cylindrica).
Conclusion
In summary, if you want to have an exciting landscape that sparks curiosity while starting conversations, it’s worth mixing these ornamental grasses with other herbaceous perennials.
Besides, understanding which grass plays well with others and which are likely to take over your garden is a game-changer.
I hope you find this list useful.