Image Alt

Plant Search

Browse our inventory of prairie-strong plants.
ornamental grass

Tufted Hair Grass

Deschampsia cespitosa

Add To My Plant List

 
Tufted Hair Grass (Deschampsia cespitosa) at Eagle Lake Nurseries

Tufted Hair Grass

Tufted Hair Grass

(Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder)

Height:  3 feet

Spread:  15 inches

Sunlight:  full sun  partial shade 

Hardiness Zone:  4a

Ornamental Features

Tufted Hair Grass is primarily grown for its highly ornamental fruit. The gold seed heads are carried on showy plumes displayed in abundance from early to late fall. It features delicate panicles of purple flowers with green overtones rising above the foliage from early to late summer. Its grassy leaves remain green in colour throughout the year.

Landscape Attributes

Tufted Hair Grass is an open herbaceous evergreen perennial grass with a mounded form. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Tufted Hair Grass is recommended for the following landscape applications;

  • Mass Planting
  • General Garden Use
  • Groundcover
  • Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
  • Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Tufted Hair Grass will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 15 inches. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an evegreen perennial, this plant will typically keep its form and foliage year-round.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type, but has a definite preference for acidic soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This species is not originally from North America. It can be propagated by division.

Tufted Hair Grass is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden. Be aware that in our climate, most plants cannot be expected to survive the winter if left in containers outdoors, and this plant is no exception. Contact our experts for more information on how to protect it over the winter months.

 
 
Hardiness Zone Plant Height Minimum Sunlight Soil pH Preference
Characteristics
Massing  Garden  Groundcover  Naturalizing  Container 
Applications
Flowers  Fruit  Texture 
Ornamental Features