Tufted Hair Grass
Deschampsia cespitosa
Other Common Names:  Tussock Grass, California Hair Grass, Hair Grass, Hassock Grass, Tufted Hairgrass
Plant Details
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones:Â 4a-8b (9?)Â Â Find Your Zone
Plant Type:Â Ornamental Grass
Height at Maturity:Â 2-3′
Width at Maturity:Â 1.5-2′
Spacing:Â 18-24″ for mass plantings, 5’+ for space between plants
Spacing:Â 18-24″ for mass plantings, 5’+ for space between plants
Growth Habit / Form:Â Clumping, Grassy, Upright
Growth Rate:Â Moderate
Flower Color: Â Gold, silver, purple and green
Flower Size:Â Tiny, in clouds
Flowering Period:Â lateSummer persisting through Winter
Flower Type:Â Tufts, clouds
Fragrant Flowers:Â No
Foliage Color:Â Dark Green
Fragrant Foliage:Â NoÂ
Berries:Â Â No
Berry Color:Â na
Sun Needs:Â Shade or Part Shade
Water Needs:Â Â Average
Soil Type:Â Clay, Loam, Sandy, Silty
Soil Moisture / Drainage:Â Well-Drained Moist
Soil pH:Â 4.5 – 8.0
Maintenance / Care:Â Very LowÂ
Attracts:Â Visual Attention, Birds
Resistances:Â Black Walnut, Deer, Disease, heat, Humidity, Insect, Rabbits, Shade, Salt (Moderate)
Description
One of a few grasses that will grow well in shade, Tufted Hair Grass is a highly ornamental North American native adored for its ethereal summer bloom that produces an airy silvery cloud of flowers that rise up to 3 feet above an attractive and dense, mounded tussock of very thin deep green grass blades. The flowers are particularly attractive when backlit and turn to a golden yellow in fall persisting through winter. Especially attractive when mixed with ferns and other shade-loving perennials, this cool-season beauty is excellent grouped or massed in woodland gardens or naturalized areas and is also useful for stabilizing disturbed sites, streambanks and shorelines. It is a larval food plant for several butterflies in North America including the Umber Skipper.
Landscape & Garden UsesÂ
Growing to 3 feet tall with a spread of up to 2 feet or so, Tufted Hair Grass is ideal as a specimen in smaller garden spaces or in groupings or massed in shady and woodland gardens. Also a great choice for rock gardens, along streams and creeks, or around the garden pond. Combines nicely with perennial ferns, hosta lilies, heucheras and other shade loving plants.
Suggested Spacing:Â 18 to 24 inches apart for mass plantings;Â 5 feet or more apart for space between plants
How To Measure for Total Square Feet
How Many Plants to Fill a Planting Area
Growing Preferences
Tuifted Hair Grass is exceptionally easy to grow in most any moist but well-drained soils. It prefers a soil rich in organic matter, which is usually found in woodland areas, and is not picky at all about soil pH. It is one of a few ornamental grasses that likes shade to part shade part shade. Avoid direct sunlight in the midafternoon hours. Plants will flower better with a few hours of morning sun per day. Maintenance is minimal. Flower stems can be removed be removed in the fall or left on the plant for winter interest. Cut plants back to just above the ground in late winter before new growth begins to emerge from the ground.Â
Note:Â Find helpful advice from our experts under the Planting & Care tab above on desktop computers and below on mobile devices.Â
Plant Long & Prosper!
Meet The Wilson Brothers & Staff
Questions? Contact Us!





























Reviews
There are no reviews yet.