Shade-Loving Ornamental Grass

Few plants offer such long-lasting displays for such little input as ornamental grasses. Providing decorative plumes and colorful foliage, most ornamental grasses require little maintenance and grow best in full sun, but some varieties are shade-lovers and require only four to six hours of sun a day. Clump-forming ornamental grasses are usually noninvasive, but spreading or running types can quickly colonize beds and borders, so plant these in woodland or wild areas or to control erosion on a slope.

Tufted hair grasses (Deschampsia cespitosa) flower best in partial shade. Growing in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 9, these perennial grasses produce low, dense tussocks of dark green arching stems, and in summer it bears clouds of flowers up to 3 feet tall tinted in shades of purple, green silver and gold. The cultivar "Northern Lights," which grows in USDA zones 5 through 9, produces variegated, gold- and gray-streaked foliage. Tufted hair grass clumps grow 16 inches tall and 12 to 24 inches wide, and their yellowish-tan seed heads retain their ornamental appeal in winter.

Hailing from moist woodlands, Japanese forest grasses (Hakonechloa macra) thrive in shade. The bright green leaves arch gracefully, forming mounds 12 to 18 inches tall and 24 inches wide. These deciduous perennial grasses spread slowly by underground roots, called rhizomes, and plants self-seed when conditions are right. The cultivar "All Gold" is named for its bright golden-yellow foliage and grows 14 inches tall and 18 inches wide. Japanese forest grasses die down over winter. Remove dead foliage to make way for new spring growth with pruning shears sterilized with rubbing alcohol. Both varieties grow in USDA zones 5 through 9.

Crinkled hair grasses (Deschampsia flexuosa) are shade-loving ornamental grasses that also tolerate dry soil. Hardy in USDA zones 4 through 7, crinkled hair grass grows in clumps of thin, wiry, dark green blades up to 2 feet long, and bears panicles of tiny purple or bronze flowers up to 3 feet tall above the foliage. Clumps usually grow 16 inches tall and 12 to 24 inches wide. The "Tatra Gold" cultivar, which grows in USDA zones 4 through 9, is named for its bright gold foliage, which resembles golden yellow hair. Both plants produce gold- or tan-colored seed heads that remain on the plant, providing winter interest.

Although not true grasses, mondo grasses do well in shade. Taiwan mondo grass (Ophiopogon formosanum) brightens shady spots in summer with its white flowers above mounds of fine-textured, light green foliage 4 to 6 inches tall. Blue fruits follow in fall, and Taiwan mondo grass spreads slowly to 2 to 3 feet wide. Alternatively, grow black mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus "Nigrescens") to provide contrast to light-colored shade plants. Black mondo grass grows 6 inches tall and 18 inches wide, and bears pale, purplish-white summer flowers and dark blue fruit. Taiwan mondo grass is hardy in USDA zones 7 through 9, and variegated mondo grass grows in USDA zones 6 through 10.