What Are the Tallest Grasses for Your Yard?

Cortaderia

• Species in the Cortaderia genus are among the tallest ornamental grasses. These grasses thrive in warm climates and generally prefer full sun and moist soil. Pampas grass (C. sellonana) grows to 12 feet tall. It has wide, arching foliage and produces tall, white plumes in late summer and early autumn. Tall cultivars include Sunningdale Silver, a 10-foot-tall grass with silvery plumes, and Carminea Rendatleri, a 12-foot-tall, pink-flowering variety. Black pampas grass (C. richardii) grows to 8 feet tall and produces dramatic black inflorescences.

Miscanthus

• The Miscanthus genus contains a wide range of grasses, some of which grow more than 10 feet tall. Among the largest is Japanese silver grass (M. siniensis), which grows to 10 feet tall and produces red, purple and silver inflorescences. This broad-leaved grass grows best in sunny sites with moist, well-drained soil. Tall cultivars include zebra grass (M. sinensis “Zebrinus”), which grows to 8 feet tall and has green and yellow striped fronds, and silverfeather (M. sinensis “Silberfeder”), which grows to 9 feet tall and blooms with silvery plumes. Another Miscanthus species, Chinese silver grass (M. floridulus), grows from 10 to 14 feet tall. This grass has arching green fronds with a white midrib and grows best in rich, moist soil and sun.

Tall Non-Natives

• Non-native grasses that grow more than 10 feet tall include Ravenna or hardy pampas grass (Saccharum ravennae), a 14-foot-tall clumping grass with upright stems. Ravenna grass produces pink-to-silver plumes in late summer and grows best in sunny, moist sites. Mvenra or plume grass (Erianthus ravennae) grows to 20 feet tall and thrives in sun and moist, well-draining soil. This self-seeding grass has coarse foliage that turns orange, purple and brown in winter. Giant reed (Arundo domax) grows from 14 to 20 feet tall and tolerates a range of site conditions. This gray-green grass has 3-inch-wide fronds and blooms with puffy, red-brown inflorescences that dry to silver.

Tall Natives

• Tall grasses indigenous to the U.S. include Alamo switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), a 7-foot-tall grass that grows in a vase shape. Cloud Nine switchgrass grows to 8 feet tall and has blue-green foliage that turns gold in fall. Both prefer full sun and well-drained soil. Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) also grows to 8 feet tall. This native grass forms a narrow, upright clump of blue-green foliage. Once established, this sun-loving grass tolerates drought.