About Feathery Tall Grasses

Cool-Season vs. Warm-Season Grasses

• Warm-season grasses prefer higher temperatures and are more drought-tolerant. They require warm soil temperatures to trigger growth. These grasses grow during spring and summer, bloom in the fall and are dormant in winter. While you can overwinter the foliage of warm-season grasses for their decorative appearance and to insulate the plants' crowns, you have to cut these grasses back in the early spring, before the clumps begin to grow new foliage.

  Cool-season grasses are less drought-resistant and perform at their best in cooler temperatures. These grasses grow during fall and winter, bloom in the spring and early summer and become dormant in the heat of summer. Warm- and cool-season grasses are available for Zones 3 through 5; cool-season grasses are better suited to areas colder than Zone 3 and warm-season grasses to those warmer than Zone 5.

Moist Locations

• Feather reed grasses (Calamagrostis acutiflora) are used around water or in flood-prone areas. The grasses flower in midsummer, producing flower heads that remain over winter. The grasses generally tolerate full sun and light shade. These grasses include the cool-season "Karl Foerster" -- a tall grass, reaching up to 4 1/2 feet in height, similar in appearance to wheat and topped by pink plumes. This cultivar tolerates heavy soils and drought. For gardeners who want a similar look with showier foliage, "Overdam" features early season variegation, and its white stripes turn pink in cool weather.

Coloring

• The flowers of fountaingrass (Pennisetum alopecuroides) change in color, fading from their bright appearance in summer to a copper or gold tone throughout fall and winter. The foliage of ornamental grasses also offers seasonal displays of color. One good example of this is seen in little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), which transitions from a sky blue spring and summer color to pink in late summer and bronze or copper in the fall.

Height

• Warm-season pampas grasses (Cortaderia selloana) produce fluffy white flowers on tall flower stalks. Female plants are usually chosen above male plants, as they produce showier flower heads. The flower plumes can reach up to 2 feet in length. Dwarf and cold-hardy pampas grasses are also available. Dwarf pampas grass "Pumila" ranges from 3 to 5 feet tall. This evergreen grass offers summer flowers and is useful as a screen or specimen plant. Plume grass (Saccharum ravennae), another warm-season grass, averages 4 feet tall, providing flowers atop 8-foot-high stalks. Bamboo muhly grasses reach 6 feet in height and resemble bamboo.

For Cut Flowers

• Giant feather grass (Stipa gigantea) offers oatlike flower heads on massive 6-foot stems. Rabbit tail grass (Lagurus ovatus) starts easily from seed in a sunny location, growing to 2 feet tall and producing panicles with the appearance of cottony bunny tails. For a similar flower in a smaller plant, the dwarf cultivar "Nana" reaches only 6 inches in height. Calamagrostis acutiflora "Karl Foerster" and Cortaderia selloana "Pumila" also makes good cut flowers.