Grasses
By: Garden Gate staff
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Easy-care maiden grasses
Maiden grasses really hit their stride in late summer to fall, when their beautiful flowers open. And their blooms and foliage look fantastic all the way through winter. To top it off, maiden grasses have few pests or problems — even deer pass them by!
The only thing they need is an annual early spring cutting back and division every four or five years if the center of the clump starts to die out. (Do both just as the new growth starts to show.)
Meet three of our favorites — from small to tall!
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’Little Kitten’
‘Little Kitten’ makes an eye-catching container plant. (To overwinter it, slip the grass out of the pot and into the garden before the ground freezes.) But this grass works just as well in a smaller bed or rock garden. Or grow several of them together for an interesting textural mass.
Type Perennial
Blooms Tan flowers in late summer to fall
Light Full sun to part shade
Soil Moist, well-drained
Size 12 to 15 in. tall (30 in. in flower), 12 to 18 in. wide
Hardiness
Cold: USDA zones 5 to 9
Heat: AHS zones 9 to 1
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’Gold Bar’
Looking for a focal point for a blah border? Try ‘Gold Bar’! Its broad bright yellow horizontal stripes along with its very upright habit make it a standout all season, especially when the burgundy flowers appear just above the leaves in fall.
Type Perennial
Blooms Burgundy flowers in late summer to fall
Light Full sun to part shade
Soil Moist, well-drained
Size 3 to 5 ft. tall, 2 to 3 ft. wide
Hardiness
Cold: USDA zones 4 to 9
Heat: AHS zones 9 to 1
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’Purpurascens’
Most maiden grasses turn a warm tan or gold in fall, but the red-tinged green summer leaves of ‘Purpurascens’ take on the dramatic red-orange hue you see here. They gradually become a more subdued beige that carries through winter.
Type Perennial
Blooms Silver-pink panicles in late summer to fall
Light Full sun to part shade
Soil Moist, well-drained
Size 3 to 4 ft. tall (9 ft. in flower), 2 to 6 ft. wide
Hardiness
Cold: USDA zones 5 to 9
Heat: AHS zones 9 to 1
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