15 Colorful Ornamental Grasses That Look Good All Season

Ornamental grasses add sway, texture, and structure to the perennial border, mixed hedge, and container arrangement. They brim with multi-season appeal, whether as a specimen, screen, mass planting, or a backdrop for blooms. With varied forms, colors, and plumes that dry beautifully, the show persists into winter. 

Navigating which ornamental grasses to incorporate can be challenging. We want those with high color or plume interest that won’t become unruly, aggressive, or invasive. We also want them to look good much of the year without becoming spindly or weak in the heat of summer. Another merit of grasses is their rugged adaptability; the right species or cultivar will thrive with little tending.

‘Cheyenne Sky’ features striking foliage that begins blue-green and transitions to burgundy red in early summer, with plumes to match. The semi-evergreen perennials make exceptional container features in addition to privacy screening, border specimens, and grouped plantings.

Switchgrass is durable and prefers lean soils to overly rich ones. It grows in moist and dry soils and tolerates occasional flooding. ‘Cheyenne Sky’ as a dark, colorful ornamental grass pairs beautifully with blooming perennials like heliopsis, echinacea, milkweed, and hardy hibiscus.

Little Bluestem ‘Blue Heaven®’

	common name Little Bluestem ‘Blue Heaven®’
	botanical name Schizachyrium scoparium ‘MinnblueA’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 3-5’
	hardiness zones 3-9

Little bluestem is a wide-ranging North American native with tufts of narrow, folded blades. Its form is typically upright, with blue-tinged new growth that matures to reddish-gold. White, fluffy seedheads provide late-season forage for songbirds, and the foliage becomes nesting sites for the birds and small mammals.

The cold-hardy species is widely adapted to different growing regions across lower Canada and most of the U.S. It prefers clay and sandy soils but tolerates various types.

‘Blue Heaven®’ is a showy cultivar with good form and disease resistance. Slender blades begin blue and turn pink and deep purple-red as they age. Summer panicles are purple, with tan seedheads. The coppery fall color extends the seasonal appeal. 

‘Ha Ha Tonka’ is another favorite with blue-green leaves and highlights of silver and red. Crossing seeds from Ha Ha Tonka State Park in Missouri, the hybrid is part of the Piet Oudolf Collection. Lurie Gardens in Chicago’s Millennium Park features both ‘Blue Heaven®’ and ‘Ha Ha Tonka’ varieties for all-season interest.

Switchgrass ‘Heavy Metal’

	common name Switchgrass ‘Heavy Metal’
	botanical name Panicum virgatum ‘Heavy Metal’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 3-5’
	hardiness zones 4-9

This tallgrass prairie cultivar brings a structural, stiffly upright habit. In midsummer, pinkish panicles rise above the blades in an airy spray.

‘Heavy Metal’ switchgrass stands tall with a column of metallic-blue blades. The pink plumes and burgundy seeds create a haze above the cool blue base. Leaves transition to deep orangey-yellow in autumn and eventually to light tan in winter. 

Panicum grows across varying soil textures and light exposures except for deep shade. Avoid overly rich soils or fertilizer, as they’ll flop in too much organic richness or in too much shade.

Feather Reed ‘Overdam’

	common name Feather Reed ‘Overdam’
	botanical name Calamagrostis acutiflora ‘Overdam’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 5’
	hardiness zones 4-8

‘Overdam’ reed grass is a sport of the popular ‘Karl Foerster’ with silvery variegated foliage, a gently arching, compact habit, and dusky pink flowers. The parent ‘Karl Foerster’ is architectural with uniformly upright foliage and bronzy plumes. It earned the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit and the Perennial Plant Association Perennial Plant of the Year Award for its ornamental and landscape performance. 

‘Overdam’ has variegated foliage that starts out with white margins and ages to white with a rose blush. The upright blades reach two feet tall, with plumes that rise above in late spring. Seedheads are tawny and stand up to three feet above the foliage.

Drought-tolerant and relatively carefree, ‘Overdam’ is an easy performer with graceful movement. It’s a cool-season grass that does most of its growing in spring but holds its color throughout summer. Cut back cool-season grasses in late winter/early spring. Leave one-third standing to avoid cutting the crown too drastically.

Hakone ‘All Gold’

	common name Hakone ‘All Gold’
	botanical name Hakonechloa macra ‘All Gold’
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 9-14”
	hardiness zones 5-9

Japanese forest grass, or Hakone grass, adds brilliant color to shady garden spots. With a mounding, cascading habit, the narrow-bladed grass is feathery with a soft textural appeal. Beautiful among rocks, Hakone also pairs well with other shade perennials like hosta, astilbe, and ferns.

‘All Gold’ is a bright, golden-green cultivar with bold appeal. Its habit is more upright, more vigorous, and more golden than its predecessors. In heavy shade, blades are chartreuse. With some sun, they show more gold.

‘All Gold’ is a slow grower through rhizomes without an aggressive spread. Feature it as a specimen in the bed or container, or plant it in a mass along a shaded slope or at the front of the border.

Japanese forest grass benefits from winter protection in its lowest zones 5-6, where mulching with fallen leaves helps insulate plants. This shade-tolerant grass needs organically rich and well-draining soils to grow. Poor and overly wet soils cause stress and disease issues. 

Blue Grama ‘Blonde Ambition’

	common name Blue Grama ‘Blonde Ambition’
	botanical name Bouteloua gracilis ‘Blonde Ambition’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 1-3’
	hardiness zones 3-10

Blue grama is a low-growing prairie native that performs well as a groundcover. ‘Blonde Ambition’ is a selection of the species. It has attractive blue leaves and golden flowers that wave like little pennants on sturdy stems.

‘Blonde Ambition’ does best in well-drained soils with a neutral pH (6.6-7.8). Drought-tolerant once established, it’s a fit for a waterwise, low-maintenance, and colorful ornamental grass. Look for ‘Honeycomb,’ similar in stature to ‘Blonde Ambition’ with patterned springtime seedheads in warm brown.

Carex ‘Ice Dance’

	common name Carex ‘Ice Dance’
	botanical name Carex morrowii ‘Ice Dance’
	sun requirements Full sun to full shade
	height 12-16”
	hardiness zones 5-9

Carex forms soft mounds that tuft gracefully as an accent or mass planting. ‘Ice Dance’ has broad blades (¼” to ½” wide) with white edges against deep green interiors. The crisp white brightens shady corners and pots with a soft, airy texture of dense blades.

‘Ice Dance’ is an adaptable sedge that tolerates some sun, especially in the morning. Foliage shows the best color in more shade. It performs well in average to moist soils and spreads slowly through rhizomes. While most sedges are clump-forming, give this gradual runner space to form a groundcover or feature it in a pot to keep it contained.

‘Ice Dance’ is evergreen or semi-evergreen in zones 7 and warmer. In areas with cold winters, it will prefer snow cover or straw as insulation. Keep it out of drying winter winds for best success in northern climates.

Big Bluestem ‘Blackhawks’

	common name Big Bluestem ‘Blackhawks’
	botanical name Andropogon gerardii ‘Blackhawks’
	sun requirements Full Sun
	height 5’
	hardiness zones 3-9

Big bluestem makes a big statement in height and color. Leaves of the native North American species emerge early in the season, before many other grasses, and arch gracefully.

‘Blackhawks’ is unique in dark green and purple that transitions near black as temperatures cool. The deep tones and rich texture bring high visual contrast. Stiff upright stems hold finely textured burgundy flowers and seeds. ‘Blackhawks’ is a seedling of A. gerardii ‘Red October,’ another colorful ornamental grass with foliage and seedheads in red and burgundy.

Like other natives, big bluestem grows across a range of moisture and soil situations. These tallgrass prairie signatures are long-lived and prime for screening, back-of-the-border locations, specimens, and naturalized plantings.

Switchgrass ‘Northwind’

	common name Switchgrass ‘Northwind’
	botanical name Panicum virgatum ‘Northwind’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 3-5’
	hardiness zones 5-9

‘Northwind’ is a favorite switchgrass for its tall, structural habit. A rigidly upright cultivar loaded with vertical interest, it has vigorous, blue-green blades that are among the most columnar. Green and maroon plumes wave above the high leaves in summer. In fall, the foliage turns gold before drying to tan.

Switchgrass cultivars have deep roots that make them heat and drought-tolerant. They’re useful in erosion control and revegetation sites, in addition to border specimens, rain gardens, and naturalized arrangements.

Frosted Explosion

	common name Frosted Explosion
	botanical name Panicum elegans ‘Frosted Explosion’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 2-3’
	hardiness zones 2-11

‘Frosted Explosion’ grows easily from seed as an annual to highlight the summer bed or cut flower garden. It features bundles of stems and feathery plumes of shimmering seed heads from summer through frost. 

The multi-stems bear bunches of the petite white blooms that “explode” into the showy seeds. Stems make strong, stiff canes that glimmer in the sun, adding sparkle and texture to the garden. Plumes start a creamy, silvery green with bronze tinges as they mature. Bright green, narrow-bladed leaves form a fountain from a tight base.

Panicum ‘Frosted Explosion’ tolerates poor soils, as long as they’re well-draining, and thrives with consistent moisture until established. In warm climates with optimal growing conditions, it may reseed. Harvest the seedheads for floral arrangements to prevent unwanted volunteers.

Blue Fescue ‘Blue Whiskers’

	common name Blue Fescue ‘Blue Whiskers’
	botanical name Festuca glauca ‘Blue Whiskers’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 10-12”
	hardiness zones 4-8

Blue fescue is a favorite for its compact form and fine, silvery blue-gray blades. The blue foliage of this ornamental grass cools a colorful summertime display. ‘Blue Whiskers’ is a vigorous cultivar with bright blue shades. The fine leaves spray from the dense, clumped base. In spring and summer, yellowish airy plumes rise above the blades and turn sandy as they age. Birds enjoy the seeds.

‘Blue Whiskers’ is adaptable in its easy growth, drought, and salt tolerance. It performs best in full sun and well-drained soils, but appreciates afternoon shade protection in areas with hot summers. 

Festuca is the best fit for cool climates; it struggles in overly hot and humid situations. Cut them back after overwintering if the blades are worn for a quick flush of new growth in spring.

Fountain Grass ‘Hush Puppy’

	common name Fountain Grass ‘Hush Puppy’
	botanical name Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hush Puppy’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 3’
	hardiness zones 5-9

Pennisetum is a colorful ornamental grass that comes in various heights, colors, and hardiness levels. It has thin, arching blades and showy plumes. Many fountain grass varieties self-seed aggressively and can become invasive, depending on your growing area. There are lots of alternatives, including native species and their cultivars.

For a fountain grass that’s sterile and won’t self-sow, ‘Hush Puppy’ from the University of Georgia breeding program won’t spread aggressively. Its light pink flowerheads don’t bear seeds. They appear in late summer with an extended display into fall. Narrow, arching leaves are medium green all summer. The fuzzy pink plumes turn tawny brown with cold weather. 

These perennial grasses benefit from extra winter protection in zone 5. And, there is a lot of discussion about whether or not sterile cultivars of invasive species have a negative impact on the surrounding ecology, 

Muhly ‘Undaunted’

	common name Muhly ‘Undaunted’
	botanical name Muhlenbergia reverchonii ‘PUND01S’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 2-3’
	hardiness zones 5-9

Muhly has narrow, deep green, threadlike leaves in a rounded, arching habit that stand by patiently all summer until bursting into bloom in the fall. The airy plumes create a pinky-red haze around the fine-bladed foliage.

Look for ‘Undaunted’ for a cultivar of ruby muhly with improved cold hardiness over the species. A spray of deep rose plumes appears in early fall above densely tufted leaves. ‘Pink Cloud’ is a longtime top performer with pink sprays and dark green, smooth blades. ‘White Cloud’ is less dense but with showy plumes in creamy white.

Muhly is heat, humidity, drought, and salt-tolerant. It grows in poor soils, including clay, rocky, and sandy compositions. It does best in warm climates with conditions on the dry side.

Prairie Dropseed ‘Gone With The Wind’

	common name Prairie Dropseed ‘Gone With The Wind’
	botanical name Sporobolus heterolepis ‘Gone With The Wind’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 36-40”
	hardiness zones 3-9

Prairie dropseed is another prairie native that bridges the ornamental landscape with its award-winning leafy fountain, low-maintenance growth, and cold hardiness. Mounding and fine-textured, the linear leaves turn coppery amber in the fall. 

‘Gone With The Wind’ has airy flowerheads and a wispy form that sways in the breeze. Green leaves turn vibrant red as the weather cools. ‘Tara’ is a dwarf cultivar from a native selection and is more upright with red-orange autumnal color. 

Plant dropseed en masse for the greatest impact. In late fall, seeds drop and scatter (hence, “dropseed”). With deep roots, prairie dropseed is a good candidate for erosion control and slopes. Heat and drought-tolerant, the grass withstands short periods of flooding in well-draining soils.

Ornamental Millet ‘Purple Majesty’

	common name Ornamental Millet ‘Purple Majesty’
	botanical name Cenchrus americanus ‘Purple Majesty’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 3-5’
	hardiness zones 2-11

Ornamental millet is a standout ornamental grass in plantings, containers, and colorful vase arrangements. Large stems topped with beads of grains rise above long, strappy, corn-like leaves.

‘Purple Majesty’ has a tall, stalky habit with dark purple leaves and seeds. Multi-stems bear large seedheads of the rich, showy grains.

Ornamental millet offers high-protein forage for birds if seeds are left to dry on the stem. They add spectacular color and texture to fresh and dried floral designs. Sow them from seed in spring to enjoy through fall as natural decor for the harvest season.