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Browse Plants

Narrowed By:Type: Grasses+ Zone: 2, 8+ Uses: Container
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 listings   Sort By: Sort
Carex buchananii Carex buchananii
(Leatherleaf sedge)
(2 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Two-foot-tall, stiff, orange-brown blades curve at the end like a shepherd’s staff. Burnished red-bronze foliage, which fades to flax at the tips, gives off a warm glow when backlit by the sun.

Cordyline hybrida var. JURed 'Festival™ Burgundy' Cordyline hybrida var. JURed 'Festival™ Burgundy'
(Festival™ Burgundy corydaline)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This basal branching cordyline combines the rugged easy-care attributes of its cordyline cousins with an unusual mix of shiny dark color, compact bushy form, short stems and cascading grass-like leaves.

Cortaderia selloana 'Gold Band' Cortaderia selloana 'Gold Band'
('Gold Band' pampas grass)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This clumping, drought-tolerant grass is one of the best pampas grasses you could grow. It has the showy, late-summer plumes common to this group, but they grow straight up, not willy-nilly like many other varieties; they eventually stand 4 to 6 feet above the foliage. Even better news is that this cultivar does not set seed, so it is noninvasive. The foliage features distinct golden edges, which, for a grass, usually menas that it loves shade or moisture. But 'Gold Band' tolerates heat and drought, making it great for large containers, and it can handle coastal conditions, too.

Deschampsia cespitosa 'Northern Lights' Deschampsia cespitosa 'Northern Lights'
(Tufted hair grass, Tussock grass)
(2 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

A tuft of thin grassy foliage with gray and gold variegation distinguishes this cultivar. Early summer brings 3-foot-tall, airy plumes of tiny flowers that look beautiful when backlit by the sun. As fall approaches, the foliage turns golden with pink-coral tips. This grass even grows well in shadier sites. Plant in a border, woodland garden, or shaded rock garden.

Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue' Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue'
(Blue fescue, Gray fescue)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

These compact tufts of 8-inch-long powder-blue leaves are well suited for edging and naturalizing in the rock garden. 

Isolepis cernua Isolepis cernua
(Fiber-optic grass)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This eye-catching sedge has silvery flower heads on the ends of its stems, making it appear like a tuft of fiber optic threads. It needs moist or wet soil and grows to about a foot tall and wide. Use it at waterside or in a container.

Melinus nerviglumis Melinus nerviglumis
(Ruby grass)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This clumping, blue-green foliaged grass has amethyst-pink flowers that create fluffy, 8- to 12-inch-long plumes throughout the summer. Eventually, the flowers mature to the color of root beer foam. It is heat and drought tolerant, and it makes a fine annual in colder climates. Excellent drainage will help it thrive in humid summer climates. Not invasive from seed, ruby grass works great grown singly in pots or in groups.

Muhlenbergia capillaris Muhlenbergia capillaris
(Muhly grass)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

In autumn, this unique specimen creates a spectacular, billowy inflorescence of massed, vibrant pink, airy flowers on 4-foot stems. It is noted for its tolerance to poorly drained soil. It is possibly hardy to Zone 6 with protection.

Muhlenbergia lindheimeri Muhlenbergia lindheimeri
(Lindheimer's muhly)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This beautiful warm-season grass produces attractive, pale purplish-gray plumes in autumn and goes dormant in the cold season. It forms a neat, upright clump with fine blue-gray foliage.

Panicum virgatum 'Prairie Fire' Panicum virgatum 'Prairie Fire'
(‘Prairie Fire’ red switchgrass)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

'Prairie Fire' is a distinctly red form of switchgrass. Blue-green spring foliage turns shades of deep red by early summer and butter yellow in late fall. The grass persists into winter. 'Prairie Fire' has a fibrous root system that grows to more than 10 feet deep, making it drought tolerant. -Scott Vogt, Native grasses, Fine Gardening issue #124

Panicum virgatum 'Ruby Ribbons' Panicum virgatum 'Ruby Ribbons'
(Switch Grass)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Panicum Ruby Ribbons’ soft blue-green foliage emerges in the spring on upright, clumping plants. The foliage takes on a wine-red color in early summer, which intensifies as the season progresses. Flower heads appear in late summer, followed by ornamental seed heads, which, if left uncut, provide long-lasting winter interest.

Pennisetum messiacum Pennisetum messiacum
(Bunny tails)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This annual grass produces deep pink flowers that resemble rabbits' tails. Flowers persist throughout the season. It forms a tidy, evergreen clump, 2 feet high and 3 feet wide.

Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum' Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum'
(Purple fountain grass, Red fountain grass)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This tropical annual produces mounds of narrow burgundy-red foliage and purple plumes to 1 foot long. It is invaluable for containers and stunning, annual foliage color in a border. It rarely sets seed.

Phyllostachys nigra Phyllostachys nigra
(Black bamboo)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This clumping bamboo is native to eastern and central China and can reach 15 feet tall and almost as wide. After two or three years, slender green culms turn a lustrous black. The foliage is abundant and dark green, making a stunning combination with the stems. Grow as screening, in large containers, or in a woodland setting where the stems can be appreciated.

Pleioblastus viridistriatus Pleioblastus viridistriatus
(Golden bamboo, Kamuro-zasa )
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This bamboo has showy variegated leaves of green and gold in an irregular pattern of stripes. It is a running bamboo, making it good for naturalizing and filling in or for hedging, but it may need to be controlled by underground barriers. It grows to about 5 feet high.

Sesleria autumnalis Sesleria autumnalis
(Autumn moor grass)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This cool-season grass begins the season with bright green blades. In late summer and early fall, it produces silvery inflorescences which complement its golden-hued autumn foliage and persist throughout the winter.

Stipa tenuissima Stipa tenuissima
(Mexican feather grass)
(5 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

No other grass exhibits quite the refinement of texture as this species. Its bright green foliage resembles delicate filaments that arise in elegant, vase-like clumps and spill outward like a soft fountain. All summer it bears a profusion of feathery panicles, which mature from foamy-green to blonde. It is native to the Americas.


Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 listings   Sort By: Sort