Tall Grasses for Privacy

Switchgrass

• Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) comes in a cultivar called Badlands, suitable for privacy screens in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 through 9. Attractive because its green leaf blades feature purplish tips, Badlands grow as tall as 5 feet. It works best in full sun sites, growing in damp to medium wet locations. Dallas Blues is a switchgrass that grows to 6 feet, with bluish-green foliage that goes to tan in winter. Dallas Blues, appropriate for zones 5 through 9, has seed plumes that last into winter, giving birds something to eat.

Very Tall Species

• Giant miscanthus (Miscanthus floridus) grows 15 feet high, described by Floridata.com as “huge and robust.” Its leaves can reach lengths of 3 feet, making this species more than able to create privacy. Native to Japan, giant miscanthus tolerates wet soils and grows between USDA zones 5 through 9. Plume grass (Saccharum ravennae) forms clumps as wide as 6 feet, with the grass maturing to be 12 feet high. Plume grass, for zones 5 through 9, works on dry to medium moisture areas. It is of African and Mediterranean origins, developing colorful plumes as long as 24 inches in autumn.

Cold Hardy Grasses

• Prairie Sky is a switchgrass cold hardy to USDA zone 4, growing to 6 feet in sun or partial shade. Prairie Sky turns yellow in fall and brown in winter, a sharp contrast to its powder blue spring and summer colors. Narrow green foliage with silvery margins highlights Miscanthus sinensis Sarabande, a grass hardy to zone 4. Sarabande grows between 4 and 5 feet high between USDA zones 4 and 9. Sarabande grows well in a variety of soil types, including heavy clay.

More Grasses for Privacy

• Giant cane bamboo (Arundinaria gigantea) is a native grass suitable for screens that grows as far north as southern sections of New York State. Growing between 5 and 12 feet tall, giant cane bamboo creates a thick screen when planted in wet sites in full sunshine. Giant cane bamboo’s foliage will be evergreen in warmer zones, but come off the plant in colder regions. Gracillimus is a cultivar of ornamental grass that withstands humidity and heat, making it an option for hot climates. Gracillimus grows between 4 and 7 feet high.