Types of Evergreen Grass

Types of Grasses

• Grasses can either be creeping or clumping. Clumping grasses rise from the center of the plant and radiate outward. Creeping grasses spread by rhizomes or stolons and become ground covers. These types of grasses can become invasive and are hard to control. The family of grasses is Poaceae but the sedges and rushes are often lumped in the group because of similar textures and growth habits. Most grasses grow an inflorescence or flower that will bear seeds after it matures. Self-seeding can become a problem and these flowers should be cut off in species that germinate easily.

Sizes of Evergreen Grasses

• There are short evergreen grasses such as mondo grass, which can spread and act as ground cover over time. Sweet flag is another short 1-foot-tall evergreen grass with variegation that brightens up low-light areas. Texas needle grass is a medium-sized mounding grass and weeping sedge grows just over 2 feet tall. The biggest grasses are primarily deciduous but some, such as pampas grass, can be evergreen in certain areas. This grass can get up to 12 feet tall.

Evergreen Grasses

• Fescue and sedges are almost all evergreen. They are primarily small to medium-sized. Bamboo is an often overlooked grass that is evergreen everywhere it can be grown. There is a huge variety of sizes and growth habits in the bamboo group. Feather reed grass, golden pampas grass, evergreen maiden grass and evergreen fountain grass are other good choices for the all-season garden. Evergreen grasses can be cleaned by running your fingers through the growth to remove the dead material in spring.

Weather Effects

• Weather can affect whether a grass stays green or goes dormant. The perennial grasses can usually stay green if they are watered well. Once these grasses are grown in temperate to cool zones, they often go dormant as a response to the cold fall and winter temperatures. Muhly grass is a medium to tall evergreen grass in warm zones. Giant reed grass will remain evergreen in warm areas such as Florida but turn dormant in areas like the Pacific Northwest. Blue oat grass is another so-called "semi-evergreen" grass that will go dormant in cold weather.