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Plant Types / Ornamental Grasses


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Ornamental Grasses

Add texture, color and movement to your landscape!

Ornamental Grasses are beautiful plants that add texture, color and movement to the landscape. They also provide interest in the fall and winter garden, becoming key features of the garden during the cooler months with their spectacular feathery plumes. Discover our list of best cool season or warm seasons grasses and learn how to create terrific plant combinations that will enliven your garden for months.

Ornamental Grasses Guides


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Acorus calamus 'Variegatus' (Variegated Sweet Flag)

Ideal for wet areas, Acorus calamus 'Variegatus' (Variegated Sweet Flag) is an attractive herbaceous perennial forming a tuft of gracefully arching, narrow, sword-shaped leaves adorned with creamy-white and green stripes. Often displaying a nice pink tinge in cold weather, the foliage is sweetly fragrant when bruised.

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Acorus calamus (Sweet Flag)

Ideal for wet areas, Acorus calamus (Sweet Flag) is a spreading, marginal aquatic perennial forming a tuft of erect, sword-shaped, bright green leaves adorned with one slightly wavy edge and a prominent midrib. In late spring, this plant bears inconspicuous greenish-yellow flowers in finger-like inflorescences, 2-4 in. long (5-10 cm), which give way to tiny, reddish berries. Both the crushed foliage and rootstocks have a pleasant aromatic fragrance. A great choice for naturalizing, Sweet Flag is quite versatile in the garden and makes a decorative foliage accent in water gardens and around ponds.

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Acorus gramineus 'Ogon' (Golden Variegated Sweet Flag)

Ideal for wet areas, Acorus gramineus 'Ogon' (Golden Variegated Sweet Flag) is a semi-evergreen herbaceous perennial forming an attractive tuft of gracefully arching, narrow, sword-shaped, golden-yellow leaves adorned with olive green stripes. The foliage is sweetly fragrant when bruised and evergreen in mild winter areas.

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Ammophila breviligulata (American Beach Grass)

Found on the Atlantic coast and the lower Great Lakes, Ammophila breviligulata (American Beach Grass) is an evergreen perennial grass arising from horizontal and vertical underground rhizomes that can reach 20 ft. long and deep (6 m).

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Andropogon gerardii 'Blackhawks' (Big Bluestem)

Appealing in most seasons, Andropogon gerardii 'Blackhawks' (Big Bluestem) is a warm season perennial grass forming an upright clump of stems with flattened leaves which emerge deep green to dark purple in spring and deepen to near black.

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Andropogon gerardii 'Indian Warrior' (Big Bluestem)

Appealing in most seasons, Andropogon gerardii 'Indian Warrior' (Big Bluestem) is a warm season perennial grass forming an upright clump of stems with flattened leaves which emerge dark green in spring and turn red with purple dusky tones by midsummer. As the cooler weather arrives, the foliage changes to deep purple by mid-fall.

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Andropogon gerardii (Big Bluestem)

Appealing in most seasons, Andropogon gerardii (Big Bluestem) is a warm-season perennial grass forming an upright clump of stems with flattened leaves. Emerging blue-green in spring, the foliage matures to green as the season progress, turning rich orange and coppery-red, sometimes with lavender tints, in the fall.

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Andropogon glomeratus (Bushy Bluestem)

An impressive ornamental grass for moist soils, Andropogon glomeratus (Bushy Bluestem) is a clump-forming, warm-season grass forming a sturdy and upright tuft of tall, flattened leaf blades. Emerging blue-green in spring, the foliage turns rich coppery-orange in the fall. Elegant tall flowering stems rise above the foliage in late summer to early fall, bearing densely clustered, clublike, silvery pink to white panicles.

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Andropogon ternarius (Splitbeard Bluestem)

Appealing in most seasons, Andropogon ternarius (Splitbeard Bluestem) is a warm season perennial grass forming an upright clump of green or reddish, often glaucous stems. Emerging silvery blue-green in spring, the foliage of ribbon-like leaves turns bronze to copper in the fall. In late summer and fall, silvery-white fluffy seed heads are borne along the upper portions of the stems. They are particularly striking when they catch the sunlight.

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Andropogon virginicus (Broom Sedge)

Appealing in most seasons, Andropogon virginicus (Broom Sedge) is a warm season perennial grass forming a dense erect tuft of flowering culms. Emerging light to medium green in spring, the foliage of linear, pubescent leaves turns rich orange to coppery-red in the fall. In late summer and fall, pairs of flowering spikes, sometimes concealed beneath sheaths, and often upon slender stems, appear clothed with very soft, white hairs.

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Anemanthele lessoniana (New Zealand Wind Grass)

Gorgeous, fast-growing, tough as nails, Anemanthele lessoniana or Stipa arundinacea (Pheasant's Tail Grass) is an elegant and impressive ornamental grass that has become a favorite of landscape designers and gardeners.

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Bouteloua curtipendula (Side-Oats Grama)

Bouteloua curtipendula (Side-Oats Grama) is a clump-forming, warm-season, perennial grass noted for its oat-like spikelets which are held mostly to one side of its arching flowering stems. Purplish at first, they bleach to a tan color in the fall. Appearing in early to mid-summer, they are continually produced through most of the summer.

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Bouteloua dactyloides (Buffalo Grass)

Long-lived, Bouteloua dactyloides (Buffalo Grass) is a warm-season perennial grass noted for its soft, gray-green to blue-green curly leaves and compact seed heads. The foliage turns straw-colored from fall to spring when the plant is dormant. Highly drought tolerant, it requires only 1.5 in. (3 cm) of rain per month to remain green.

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Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition' (Blue Grama)

Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition' (Blue Grama) is a densely tufted, warm season, ornamental grass noted for its intriguing inflorescences resembling tiny brushes. Suspended horizontally from only one side of the flowering stems, the flowers are chartreuse at first before they bleach to a straw color.

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Bouteloua gracilis (Blue Grama)

Low-growing and compact, Bouteloua gracilis (Blue Grama) is a densely tufted, warm-season, ornamental grass noted for its intriguing inflorescences resembling tiny brushes. Suspended horizontally from only one side of the flowering stems, the flowers are red-tinted at first before they bleach to a straw color.

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