Plant name: Hairawn muhly grass, pink muhly grass, gulf muhly

Botanical name: Muhlenbergia capillaris

Virtues: Feathery pink flowers offer beauty from early autumn through fall. Tan seed capsules remain interesting into winter. A rugged native grass that’s easy to please.

Flower: Pink or dark pink flowers appear in early autumn and remain through the fall. They are exceedingly feathery, creating a cloudlike appearance over the leaves.

Foliage: Wiry dark green leaves to two feet tall. It is a warm-season grass, meaning leaves begin growth in summer.

Habit: Forms a clump two feet wide and tall. Flowers add another foot to the height.

Season: Fall.

Origin: Eastern half of the United States.

Cultivation: Prefers sandy, well-drained soil and full sun. Tolerates heat, humidity, poor soil, drought and light shade. Unlike many grasses, hairawn muhly does not spread by underground roots. USDA Zones 5 to 9.

Read more Plants We Love

Read more about hairawn muhly and other ornamental grasses, both native and exotic, in the October/November 2009 issue of Horticulture, available in our online store.