Pink Muhly Grass

Muhlenbergia capillaris

Other Names: Cotton Candy Grass, Purple Muhly Grass, Florida Muhly Grass, Texas Muhly Grass

Plant Details

USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 6a-10b Find Your Zone

Plant Type: Ornamental Grass

Height at Maturity: 2-3′

Width at Maturity: 3′

Spacing: 2.5-3′ for hedges or mass plantings; 6’+ for space between plants

Growth Habit / Form: Arching, Clumping, Dense, Upright, Vase/Fountain Shape

Growth Rate: Moderate to Fast

Sun Needs: Full to Mostly Sun

Water Needs: Average, very low when established

Soil Type: Amended Clay, Loam, Sand, Silt, prefers sandy soils

Soil Drainage: Well Drained

Soil pH: 5.5 – 7.0

Flower Color: Pinkish-Purple

Flower Type: Plumes

Flowering Period: Late Summer, Early Fall, Mid-Fall, Late Fall, Early Winter (in warmer climates)

Foliage Color: Deep Green

Fragrant Foliage: No

Attracts: Visual Attention, Birds

Resistances: Deer, Disease, Drought, Dry Soil, Heat, Humidity, Insect, Salt

Maintenance / Care: Very Low

How To Plant & Care For Muhly Grass

Description

An absolutely showstopping source of late-season color when other flowering plants are winding down for the season, Pink Muhly Grass, commonly called “cotton candy grass” or Purple Muhly Grass or Cotton Candy Grass by some folks, is a very tough and exceptionally easy-to-grow North American native grass immensely popular for the profuse and beautiful clouds of airy pinkish-purple flowers it produces over a long period from late summer through fall.

The outstanding attributes don’t stop with the flowers. Throughout the warm season, Muhly Grass forms attractive arching mounds of glossy, hair-like green leaves that provide a unique, wispy texture in the landscape which contrasts remarkably well with many other types of plants. Excellent as an accent and truly stunning in groupings or massed.

You might also be happy to know that Muhly Grass is very easy to grow and low maintenance. When established it is exceptionally drought tolerant, requiring little if any supplemental water. The foliage can be cut back to an inch or two above the ground in late winter before new growth begins to emerge.

Muhly Grass is our top selling ornamental grass for good reasons, and deserves a spot in every garden where it will grow!

Landscape & Garden Uses

Growing in a clump 2 to 3 feet tall and 3 feet wide, Pink Muhly Grass is ideal for use as an accent in smaller garden spaces or in small to large groupings in home foundation plantings and landscape borders. Truly stunning in bloom in mass plantings on embankments, hillsides and slopes, where its roots act as a soil stabilizer for erosion control. Makes a nice centerpiece in combination container gardens and is a fine addition to seaside gardens, rock gardens, ornamental grass gardens and the Xeriscape (low water need). A lovely display for any sunny spot!

Suggested Spacing: 2.5 to 3 feet apart for solid borders or mass plantings; 6 feet or more apart for space between plants

How To Measure Total Square Feet Of A Planting Area

How Many Plants Needed To Cover A Planting Area?

Note: For our customers who live and garden north of USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 6a, where Pink Muhly Grass is not reliably winter hardy, you’ll be happy to know it can be grown in containers that can be brought indoors during winter and placed back outside when temperatures warm up in spring.

Growing Preferences

Pink Muhly Grass is exceptionally easy to grow and maintain. It is exceptionally resistant to heat, humidity, sun, salt, and drought. Make sure to plant it in very well-drained soil. Add sand and or small gravel to the planting mix if necessary to ensure good drainage. It appreciates pampering the first year with adequate food and water to get its root system established. After this, it takes off on its own and is exceptionally drought-tolerant when established. Full sun is preferred for best flowering however the plant will tolerate and still flower with some light shade. we suggest at least 6 hours of direct sunlight for best flowering. If necessary, cut back foliage to ground in late winter before new growth begins to emerge in spring. It is also quite salt tolerant, making it an excellent choice for gardens near the sea.

Helpful Articles

Click on the link below to find helpful advice from our experts on how to plant, fertilize, prune and water Muhly Grass.

How To Plant & Care For Muhly Grass

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