Low Evergreen Grasses

To 3 Feet

• Tufted hair grass (Deschampsia cespitosa) grows from 20 to 36 inches tall. It has dark, hairlike foliage and produces airy, green to yellow inflorescences in summer. Tufted hair grass is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 to 9 and prefers shaded, moist sites. Taiwanese miscanthus (Miscanthus transmorrisonensis) thrives in full sun and tolerates a variety of soils. This evergreen grows to 3 feet tall and is hardy in zones 6 to 9. It has narrow foliage and blooms with feathery plumes in midsummer.

To 2 Feet

• Hardy in zones 5 to 8, Gold Fountains (Carex dolichostachya “Kaga Nishiki”) grows to 2 feet tall. This evergreen has narrow, gold-green fronds that form an arching mound. It prefers sun to partial shade and tolerates drought. Blue oats grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens) grows to 2 feet tall in clumps of arching, fine foliage. It produces clusters of light-blue flowers, followed by brown seed pods. Hardy in zones 4 to 8, this slow-growing evergreen prefers sunny or lightly shaded sites with well-drained soil.

To 1 Foot

• Frosty Curls sedge (Carex albula) grows to 1 foot tall and is hardy in zones 6 to 9. This drought-tolerant grass has fine, metallic foliage. It grows in small clumps and thrives in full sun to partial shade exposures. Mondo grass (Ophiopogon japonicus) grows from 6 to 10 inches tall in spreading clumps of dark-green foliage. This evergreen is hardy in zones 6 to 9 and requires well-draining soil. Mondo grass blooms with lavender and white summer blossoms and thrives in sun to shade. Nana mondo grass, a dwarf cultivar, only grows to 3 inches tall. Blue moor grass (Sesleria caerulea) grows to a foot tall and is hardy in zones 5 to 8. This spreading grass has blue and green foliage and produces silver inflorescences. It grows best in moist soil and sunny to partially shady exposures.

Semievergreens

• Some low-growing ornamental grasses are evergreen in warm climates and semievergreen in cooler climates. Ice Dance Japanese sedge (Carex morrowii) grows from 8 to 15 inches tall and is hardy in zones 7 to 9. This shade-loving grass has stiff foliage with white margins. Blue fescue (Festuca glauca) grows in dense, 10-inch-tall mounds of tufted foliage. This blue-green grass is hardy in zones 6 to 9 and grows best in full sun and well-drained soil.