Growing Ornamental Grasses from Seed?

Has anyone had luck with growing ornamental grasses (I'm interested in Miscanthus types such as "Flame Grass," November Sunset" and "Stardust," black fountain grass, Mexican feather grass, and some others) from SEED? I visited several sites I found from a Google search and found about "200 seeds" of the black fountain grass for about $8. Are these seeds miniscule? Will they work?

( I'm sorry if a thread has already been done about this...there are 17 pages of topics and I don't have time to look!
I did a search for "grass from seed" and 30,593 threads showed up with a mention of grass seeds!!!!! Holy moley!!!!
Thanks,
Connie

You can most certainly grow ornamental grasses from seed, although, like with most plants, named cultivars are unlikely to come true to the parent, particularly regarding colors and variegations.

Here's my full list of successfully seed-grown grasses:

Anthoxanthum odoratum.. Sweet Vernal Grass
Briza maxima.. Annual Quaking Grass
Briza media.. Quaking Grass
Carex grayi.. Gray's Sedge
Carex muskingumensis.. Palm Sedge
Chasmanthium latifolium.. Northern Sea Oats
Cortaderia selloana.. Pampas Grass
Deschampsia cespitosa.. Tufted Hairgrass
Eragrostis spectabilis.. Purple Love Grass
Festuca gigantea.. Giant Fescue
Festuca glauca.. Blue Fescue
Festuca mairei.. Maire's Fescue
Festuca scoparia.. syn. Festuca gautieri..Bearskin Fescue
Hystrix patula.. Bottlebrush Grass
Lagurus ovatus.. Bunny Tails - Annual
Luzula nivea.. Snowy Woodrush
Luzula sylvatica.. Greater Woodrush
Miscanthus sinensis.. 'New Hybrids' Maiden Grass, Eulalia Grass..
Nassella tenuissima.. Mexican Feather Grass
Panicum virgatum.. Switch Grass
Pennisetum alopecuroides.. Fountain Grass
Pennisetum alopecuroides.. 'Moudry' Black Seeded Fountain Grass
Sesleria caerulea.. Blue Moor Grass
Setaria faberi.. Giant Foxtail - Annual
Stipa capillata.. Feather Grass
Tridens flavus.. Purple Top

Was your fountain grass the purple or black type? Are the purple and black hybrids the ones that would be unlikely to come true to the parent?
Thanks for your response! Do you plant directly in the soil outdoors or start indoors?

Connie

Connie..the Pennisetum 'Moudry' is black seeded, so the plumes are dark, but the foliage on both are green. Purple and black hybrid grasses can be grown from seed, but you must get seed that has thoroughly matured, which means from a trader in a very warm climate. I've tried with seed from zone 9, and it wasn't viable. Some folks believe that the purple Pennisetums produce sterile seed, but I know people who have successfully grown some of them.

Then there is Pennisetum glaucum and it's new cultivars 'Purple Majesty' (mistakenly called Millet) and 'Jester.' These and one other called something like 'Red Baron' come to us from the people who developed Wave Petunias. They are annual grasses in my zone, and I'm not sure about yours. I have 'Purple Majesty' germinated now, and have sown 'Jester' and may (not sure) have a sprout. These are very fast growing and striking plants, hot weather full sun lovers.

I grow my all grasses with winter sowing techniques. Cold season grasses are sown in containers and cold frames outdoors in the winter. Warm season grasses the same way, but in late winter and spring.

Here's a picture of a flat of 64 plant bands, sown with Blue Fescue seed, in a cold frame last winter.

Thanks again! I have some "Red Baron" blood grass! Is that what you're speaking of? I bought it grown and planted it. Will it survive my 105 degree summer and then the 20 degree (occasionally) winter?

Connie

Donn,

Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum'.

I purchased three of these. I think they are charming,
but understand propagation is only by division.

So, living in Zone 4 I shall have to bring them in for
the winter months.

Would you have any suggestions, please?

Thank you.

taramark..Sorry, but I have no experience at all, at wintering tender grasses indoors. My inclination, and it's only a guess, is you would want to put them somewhere where they stay just above their lowest temperature tolerance level. I couldn't even hazard a guess at light and moisture levels required, or if they should be trimmed back before the process.

My house is torn up in what seems to be a perpetual remodel, and I have no place for indoor plants at this time. I keep store root veggies in the crawlspace, and one Thanksgiving Cactus in the ckitchen, but that's it for indoor plants.

You might want to start a thread on how to over-winter tender grasses indoors. More people who have done it might see the topic.