Thesegrasses almost effortlessly brighten up shaded areasof your landscape, adding instant texture and movement year-round.
The dry seed heads add natural music to the garden when the wind moves through them.
After this ornamental grass for shade is established, it tolerates both drought and wet conditions.
Credit:Peter Krumhardt
It has good deer resistance.
Size:36 inches tall by 18 inches wide
Hardiness Zones:38
2.
Group 5 to 7 plants together to create cascading texture through a planting bed.
Credit:Doug Hetherington
Japanese forest grass grows in a lush, many layered clump and spreads slowly.
Its medium green leaves turn vivid orange in autumn.
The cultivar Aureola has eye-catching chartreuse foliage in spring and summer.
Size:18 inches tall by 18 inches wide
Hardiness Zones:59
3.
Feather Reed Grass
Neither boggy soil nor shade detersfeather reed grass(Calamagrostis arundinacea).
It has a vase-like shape and airy pinkish flower plumes in late summer and early fall.
This clump-forming ornamental grass for shade will spread slowly in average soils and more quickly in wet sites.
Watch it closely to ensure it doesn’t spread too aggressively.
Size:34 feet tall by 23 feet wide
4.
Its ribbon-like leaves give the clump-forming plant a casual appearance.
Expect it to spread slowly over time when growing in rich,well-drained soil.
This ornamental grass for shade has foliage that will wither and turn brown in the harsh afternoon sunlight.
Size:2 feet tall and wide
5.
Tufted Hairgrass
Tufted hairgrass(Deschampsia cespitosa) is aptly named.
Its thin leaf blades grow in loose tufts.
Clumps of blades bend every way to give the plant awhimsical, casual appearance.
Tufted hairgrass grows best in humus-rich, moist-to-soggy soil.
Size:23 feet tall and wide
Hardiness Zones:49
6.
The flower spikes rise above the foliage and stand through midfall.
This ornamental grass for shade grows best in nutrient-rich, moist soil.
It will self-seed but seldom becomes weedy.
Size:2 to 3 feet tall and wide
7.
Blue fescue does best in well-drained to dry soil; it languishes in moist soil.
Considered a short-lived perennial, it usually lives 2 to 3 years.
Size:1 to 2 feet tall and wide
Hardiness Zones:48
8.
Blue Oat Grass
Blue oat grass(Helictotrichon sempervirens) resembles blue fescue but is significantly larger.
Its spiky, mounded shape is a striking presence in the garden.
Use blue oat grass as a focal point or plant several together to visually divide a space.
Blue oat grass grows best in well-drained or dry soils; it doesnt grow well in wet planting sites.
At the top of the list aresedges (Carexspp.).
The clump-forming plants thrive in part shade or full shade and a variety of soils.
Many sedge varieties are available for the garden, and most arehardy in Zones 39.
Another grass lookalike ismondo grass(Ophiopogonspp.).
This member of the lily family has wide, deep green or blackish-purple blades that arch toward the ground.
It forms 1-foot tall and wide clumps and is hardy in Zones 69.
Lilyturf resembles mondo grass but in a larger form.
This will give them plenty of time to grow before winter, when the conditions are harsher.
Some will spread and some will clump.
It depends on their growth habit.
It depends on the jot down of tree.
However, you might plant plenty of beautiful ornamental grasses under high-canopied trees that create partial shade.
