How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Muhlenbergia Capillaris
Pretty pink muhly grass, Muhlenbergia capillaris, is a lovely and large ornamental grass. It looks like cotton candy because of the plumes of pink it produces in summer and in the fall. Kevin Espiritu will guide you to fill your yard with pink!

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The pink plumes of color make Muhlenbergia capillaris a true garden gem. One of the most sought-after members of the ornamental grass world, it’s also called pink muhly grass.
Native to the United States, the tall flower stalks evoke the thought of cotton candy. Need a bit of deer resistant color? This will provide a lush pink glow in the fall.
So let’s explore the vibrant flora from this grass family in more detail. We’ll go over everything you’ll need to care for this striking perennial!
Plant Overview

Plant Type
Ornamental grass
Family
Poaceae
Genus
Muhlenbergia
Species
Muhlenbergia capillaris
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Native Area
North America and Mexico
Exposure
Full sun to partial shade
Height
3’
Watering Requirements
Low
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Pests & Diseases
Aphids, tar spot, occasional rust
Maintenance
Medium
Soil Type
Well-draining
Hardiness Zone
5-9
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What is Muhlenbergia Capillaris?
Drought tolerant and low maintenance, Muhlenbergia capillaris is often used on golf courses, highway medians and in xeriscaping. Place some of this lush native plant on steep hillsides and let it truly shine. Who needs the glasses to have a rose-tinted landscape, anyway?
Native Area

Normally inclined to sandy or rocky soil, this lovely North American native plant is prolific in its range. As a naturalized plant, it’s grown from coast to coast as an ornamental grass. It can be found in prairies, open woodlands, meadowlands, and pine barrens.
Characteristics

Muhlenbergia capillaris grows in a mound with erect, finely textured, blue-green leaves. Around the fall, the outward projecting leaves turn breathtaking when they billow pink seed heads from a cotton candy crown. Delicate pink flowers grow on long, wiry and glossy leaves. They quickly form a vibrant pink cloud over the foliage. The seeds themselves are tiny and purplish in color.
Grown individually, this warm season grass looks stunning alone. But it makes an incredible show in a mass planting! If you’ve got a lot of property, you can have a glowing sea of pink. With an average size of three by three feet, a few of them can have a real visual impact.
Planting

Prepare the planting site for this grass by loosening the soil and incorporating organic matter if needed to improve drainage. Dig a hole slightly larger than the root ball, ensuring the crown of the plant sits level with or just above the soil surface.
Backfill the hole gently, firming the soil around the roots to eliminate air pockets. Water thoroughly after planting and maintain consistent moisture until the plant is established, usually within the first growing season. Mulching around the base helps retain soil moisture and suppress weeds.
Once established, pink muhly grass is drought-tolerant and requires minimal maintenance.
How to Grow
Muhlenbergia capillaris is not only beautiful, it’s also quite hardy. Therefore, it makes for a perfect addition to a low-maintenance garden. But even low-maintenance gardens require a little love and attention!
Light

Warm and dry conditions are perfect for your pink hair grass. It grows well in both full sun and partial shade in zones 5-9. However it thrives in full sun, and requires at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight daily to achieve its signature vibrant pink plumes.
Planting in a location with ample sunlight not only enhances its ornamental appeal but also supports healthy growth and resilience. In shaded conditions, the plant may become leggy or fail to produce its characteristic airy blooms.
Water

For the first year, you’ll want to water this North American native regularly. Keep the soil damp, but not wet or muddy. Before watering, check to make sure it’s dried out in the top two inches of soil.
In subsequent years, water it once a week, but not more than one inch a week. Let the soil fully dry out between watering sessions. During the winter, you may not have to water at all if there’s consistent rain. Remember, it handles drought well!
Soil

Your plants prefer sandy to rocky soil that is well-draining. While it does tolerate poor soil quality, it can’t take standing water. Muhlenbergia readily accepts soil types from acidic to slightly alkaline. With such a wide range, it’s a pretty safe bet it’ll grow in most residential soils.
Temperature

It prefers warm climates and performs best in areas with mild winters and hot summers. While it can tolerate occasional frosts, prolonged freezing temperatures may damage its foliage or affect its ability to flower the following season.
In colder regions, it benefits from a layer of mulch to protect its roots during winter. It will die back in areas where the temperature drops below -10°F (-23°C) and not come back in the spring. In warmer climates, it’ll return with better weather. During the growing season, the plant thrives in temperatures ranging from 70-90°F (21-32°C).
Fertilizer

Cotton candy muhly really doesn’t need a lot of fertilizer to survive. But if you want those clouds of lofty pink in the fall, use a slow-release fertilizer early in the spring. Avoid too much fertilizer, as too high of a nitrogen level creates spindly growth and weak stems. If your soil’s rich, you may not need to fertilize at all.
Maintenance

Trimming is mostly for appearance purposes and should be done in the early summer or after the blooms have faded.
Sterilize your pruning shears in a mix of one part bleach to nine parts water. Trim off floppy stems or ones that are too tall. If you’re pruning once the flowers have faded, you can trim back the flower stalks as well.
Propagation

Seed or division are the options for propagating Muhlenbergia capillaris.
In the late fall when your grasses start to lose their pink color, you can harvest seed. If you don’t mind pruning off the flower plumes, slide the plume into a paper bag and clip the stem. Let it dry in there for a few days, then shake the seeds off.
Every three years, your grass should be large enough to divide. Remove the grass from the ground and separate it into multiple clumps before replanting.
Common Problems
You’ll find your Muhlenbergia capillaris is surprisingly easy to care for!
Growing Problems

Over-watering can cause the conditions that enable fungal root rot diseases to form. Since this grass is drought tolerant, it does better with too little water than too much.
Extreme cold conditions can cause the grass to die back. It’ll return in the spring unless there’s an extended period of temperatures below -10°F (-23°C), at which point the roots will die off as well.
Pests

Your plants won’t experience many pest issues. Rarely, aphids may infiltrate the tall leaves, but those aren’t difficult to control in muhly gardens. Blast them with water to pop them off the plant. A misting of neem oil should get rid of them too.
Diseases

Two diseases can occur, but the only serious one is tar spot. This fungal disease can damage or kill your plants. To keep this out of your garden, ensure your plants are spaced to allow for adequate airflow. If you haven’t divided your plant for a few years, that can improve airflow as well.
An additional disease that happens, albeit rarely, is rust. Common rust appears as speckling on the blade-like leaves. Too much moisture or poor airflow is a common cause. Thin out dense clumps as you would for tar spot.
Frequently Asked Questions
When to Muhlenbergia capillaris grass seeds?
Seeds are best planted in late winter to early spring, once the ground warms.
How long does it take for Muhlenbergia capillaris to grow fully?
This ornamental grass can take up to three years to grow to its maximum size. The plants have a moderate rate of growth, but they grow tall before they grow wider.
When does Muhlenbergia capillaris bloom?
Muhlenbergia capillaris produces cotton candy plumes in late summer and fall. They lose color in winter, but are still good to look at in the garden.