10 Best Types Of Ornamental Grass That Are Native

Create beautiful, low-maintenance landscapes with these North American beauties that also support wildlife.

Decorative plants will beautifully decorate any garden without the need for special care. However, some species can spread aggressively or are considered invasive, so it's important to choose carefully. Eliminate the headache and help wildlife by choosing one of the following fine ornamental grasses native to North America. They pair well with perennials, annuals and bulbs, adding height and texture to your plant combinations. Like other herbs, they don't have bright flowers, but their leaves change color with the seasons, from green and blue to red and gold. They also produce attractive seed heads that vary in color and shape and last several weeks in the garden.

Many native ornamental grasses are host plants (food sources) for the larval or caterpillar stages of butterflies and moths. Most of these grasses remain erect in fall and winter and provide cover for native overwintering birds and insects. If you let the plants sit over the winter, birds will eat the seeds.

the seeds of the field

For your first trial with a native ornamental grass, field point seeds are unbeatable. The size and shape make it an ideal choice, especially in front of beds. Give it room to show off its delicate leaves and finely textured seed heads. This deer-resistant grass blends in beautifully with other garden plants and won't be displaced (it won't take over other parts of your yard). Some say the plant has a strong popcorn smell.

Name: sporobulus heterolepis .

Growing conditions: full sun to dry to average soil.

Size: Up to 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide

Regions: 3-8

blue beard

This tall and showy native ornamental grass will suit most gardens where height and attention are needed. Blue-green leaves with reddish hues in autumn give the plant a unique beauty. Plant in well-drained soil with plenty of sun. Do not plant it in your garden, even if it grows in the lawn with other plants. In rich garden soils, this grass may decline, preferring poorer soil conditions.

Name: Schizachyrium scoparium .

Growing conditions: Full sun in dry to average soil.

Size: Up to 4 feet long and 1 foot wide

Regions: 3-10

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Sideoats grama is a small, deer-resistant plant with pendulous seed heads that hang from one side of the stem, giving the plant its common name. These decorative seed pods make this grass one of the most attractive and cultivated native grasses. Stamens appear red when they shed pollen. The small purple and orange flowers are especially attractive when the grass is in bloom. Sideoats grass is the larva of various butterflies and jumping moths.

Name: Butelua curtipendula

Growing conditions: Full sun in dry to average soil.

Size: Up to 2 meters long and wide

Regions: 3-9

blue gram

Blue Grama has unusual seed heads that look like small veins, combs or eyebrows, hanging horizontally from one side of the stem. The blue-grey leaves turn golden brown in autumn, sometimes taking on interesting shades of orange and red. Small purple flowers appear on arching stems above the leaves in early to mid-summer, resulting in a total plant height of typically 20 inches. Blue Grama can handle hot and dry areas.

Name: Butelua gracilis

Growing conditions: Full sun in medium to dry soils.

Size: Up to 2 meters long and wide

Regions: 3-10

bushy grass

The bushy grass has seed heads with a fine, hair-like texture, held at the tips of green, thread-like leaves. At the end of the season, the leaves turn golden. This native ornamental grass is not afraid of wet soil and will thrive in shade. Some butterflies in North America use dense grasses as food for their larvae. It can take on a hairy appearance in late winter, forcing gardeners to mistakenly remove it as a weed before new shoots appear in spring.

Name: Deschampsia cespitosa

Growing conditions: Partial shade in medium to moist soils.

Size: Up to 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide

Regions: 4-8

Indian grass

The upright leaves of Indiangrass vary in color from green to gray-green or blue-green, then turn golden in fall. The seed heads are long, feathery, yellow-brown spikes that appear on bright golden-yellow stems as the pollen falls, turning bronze as the season progresses. Leaf branching creates a wider plant than other tall grasses. Drought and deer tolerant, Indiangrass helps support wildlife, including a variety of songbirds.

Title: Sorghastrum Nutans

Growing conditions: Full sun in medium to dry soils.

Size: Up to 6 feet tall and 2 feet wide

Regions: 3-9

the big blue log

Barbary blueberry is easily recognized by its 3-sided seed heads that resemble a turkey leg. Each branch has a purple thorn that turns bronze in the fall. The leaves change from green to blue-green in summer and to dark bronze red in fall. Offers interest until winter. Growth remains compact until mid-summer and complements other perennials without overpowering them. This grass is a host plant for many species of grasshoppers and provides shelter and food for songbirds.

Name: Andropogon gerardii

Growing conditions: Full sun in moist or dry soil.

Size: Up to 8 feet tall and 2 feet wide

Regions: 3-9

severe panic

Native to North America, millet tolerates a variety of soils and climates. The color of the leaves varies from dark green to gray-green to green-purple. Yellowish-brown aerial bronze flowers appear above upright leaves in mid-summer. This native grass is attractive at any time of the year, even in winter. The shape and color of the leaves varies greatly from cultivar to cultivar.

Name: Panicum virgatum

Growing conditions: Sun and light shade in moist or dry soil.

Size: Up to 6 feet tall and 2 feet wide

Regions: 3-8

note This weed can be invasive in ideal garden conditions, where it can spread via creeping rhizomes or dropped seeds.

northern sea oats

With its interesting seed heads and bamboo leaves, North Sea oat is a highly ornamental native grass. The flat, floating seed heads resemble those of field oats, but the two plants are not related. Light green, the seed heads ripen to golden bronze in summer. Green leaves turn copper in fall and brown in winter.

Name: Chasmanthium latifolium

Growing conditions: Full sun or partial shade in well-drained soil.

Size: Up to 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide.

Zones: 4 to 9

Note: This native grass can be invasive in ideal garden conditions and will thrive by self-seeding.

trick grass

Deer grows in sandy or well-drained soils in the southwestern United States and parts of Mexico. Adapts to a wide range of growing conditions. This evergreen native grass has gray-green leaves that retain their color even in dry conditions. The showy and delicate flowers appear grey, mature to yellow-brown and last well into winter.

Name: Muhlenbergia rigens .

Growing conditions: full sun or partial shade, moist or dry, well-drained soil.

Size: Up to 3 meters long and wide

Regions: 7-9

All of these ornamental native grasses blend well with perennials and other plants in your garden, especially other native plants. Use tall grasses to help keep other plants upright during the growing season and shorter grasses to cover the leafless stems of perennials. Be sure to choose native grass species that have the same needs as the other plants you want to grow so your entire garden will thrive.