Deschampsia Species, Hair Grass, Hassock Grass, Tufted Hair Grass, Tussock Grass

This species not only has a large range in North America, but also Eurasia. It is a cool season grass that emerges early in spring. It ha...Read Mores dark green slender arching blades that form a tussock. It bears very fine-textured cloud-like flower clusters in summer into winter. It grows in average well-drained soil or organic draining wet soils. Cut down low in late winter to prepare it for the growing season. This mother species is sold by some native plant nurseries and some conventional, but not available just everywhere. I have not seen it very much in the Midwest or East, just infrequently, though it is a good ornamental or native meadow restoration grass.

As the name suggests, this is a clump-former and does not spread. The flower scapes can reach 3', but the foliage is only about 16" tall....Read More This is a fairly small grass. The flowers and seedheads are especially beautiful when backlit, forming a luminous golden cloud.

This is a cool-season grass, so it emerges from dormancy earlier than most in the spring, and it blooms in late spring (June here). Flowers are green fading to tan, and last most of the summer. In the garden, they do need periodic grooming as some scapes begin to lodge after a month or so, at least with the taller cultivars.

It is evergreen in mild winter climates, but only semi-evergreen here in Boston Z6a.

It is also one of the most shade tolerant of true grasses---mine did well and bloomed well in dappled shade with almost no direct sun, here in Boston Z6a.

It is not long-lived---mine lasted about 5 years. Regular division may help you keep it going longer.

It likes cool moist climates, and does better in Vermont than in LA. It is said to self-sow, sometimes aggressively, when conditions are right, but mine never did.

I live at 6500 ft in Colorado and purchased a few of these grasses at a local nursery where they grow their own. This grass does not imp...Read Moreress me but it must impress the local deer. It's the only ornamental grass in my garden that gets chomped to the ground regularly.