Wednesday, August 10, 2011

5 Fantastic Ornamental Grasses for San Diego

Ornamental grasses are a wonderful low maintenance alternative to shrubs and perennials.  With a wide range of colors and textures, these 5 fantastic plants usually only need to be trimmed once or twice per year.  Pictures for all these grasses can be found on my blog, just enter the plant name in the search box.

Festuca glauca
Clumping Blue Fescue
This tough grass is a great supporting player.  I love to use this grass in pots or at the base of water fountains.

Imperata cylindrica ‘Rubra'
Japanese Blood Grass
The new foliage on this plant has a bright red color do it, thus the name.  This grass can be invasive, so it is best used in a container or a small planter bed that is surrounded by concrete.  When planted in mass the color is spectacular.

Miscanthus sinensis ‘Variegatus’
Variegated Maiden Grass
This tall beauty (5’ tall x 5’ wide) has broad leaves with cream colored strips running down the length of the leaf.

Muhlenbergia capillaris
Pink Muhly
My favorite ornamental grass and a beautiful way to bring color to your garden in the fall.  This grass produces pink seed effloresces in the fall that seem to float above the grass like a pink mist.  A terrific drought tolerant plant as well.

Stipa tenuissima
Mexican Feather Grass
A nice, soft billowy grass that gets about 2’ tall x 2’ wide.  Trim this grass to the ground (about twice per year) when the top turns brown and a new batch of grass will come up.  This grass will reseed but consider it a way to get free plants.


No comments:

Post a Comment