Perennial Flowering Grasses

To 3 Feet Tall

• The prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis) blooms from late summer through fall with fragrant, pink-brown flowers. This North American native grows to 3 feet tall and thrives in sunny sites. It's hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 to 9 and thrives in sunny, dry and rocky sites. "Little Bunny" fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides "Little Bunny") may be small, but this 1.5-foot-tall grass blooms with white-green, showy flowers from summer through fall. Hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9, this cultivar tolerates partial shade exposures and moist soil.

To 5 Feet Tall

• For spring color, feather reed grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora "Karl Foerster") blooms from February through May with purple and pink inflorescences. This low-maintenance grass tolerates shade, clay soil and wet sites, and attracts wildlife with its showy flowers. Feather reed grass grows in USDA zones 5 to 9 and reaches heights of 5 feet. As its name suggests, purple moor grass (Molina caerulea) blooms in mid-summer with purple flowers. This 4-foot-tall grass is hardy in USDA zones 5 to 8 and grows in cool, moist sites. It flowers best in partial shade exposures.

To 7 Feet Tall

• Several grasses in the Miscanthus genus produce colorful inflorescences, such as the "Silver Feather"" (Miscanthus sinensis "Silberfeder"), a 7-foot-tall perennial grass that blooms in late summer with white-pink flowers. This clumping grass prefers sunny sites with well-draining soil and is hardy in USDA zones 4 to 9. The "Sarbonde" miscanthus (Miscanthus sinensis "Sarbonde") also blooms in late summer; this 6-foot-tall grass produces bronze-gold inflorescences. It's hardy in USDA zones 6 to 9 and grows best in sunny sites.

More Than 7 Feet Tall

• For showy, purple-bronze flowers, plant plume grass (Saccharum ravennae). A Mediterranean native, this large grass grows to 12 feet tall and blooms from September through October. Plume grass is hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9 and grows well in sunny, well-drained sites. Switch grass (Panicum virgatum) grows to 8 feet tall and blooms with 2-foot-long, red-purple flowers in summer. This low-maintenance grass grows best in full sun; shade may cause its foliage to droop. Switch grass is hardy in USDA zones 4 to 9.