Pink Muhly Grass

Growing Pink Muhly Grass

Bombproof in heat, drought, sand, and salt spray. Plant in drifts and site it where the late-day sun can light up the pink haze.

Where it belongs

Pink muhly grass is native to the Southeast, Texas, and the southern Mid-Atlantic, growing in sandy pine flatwoods, on coastal dunes, and in dry rocky openings.

It is the most photographed native grass in the country, and the photographs are not exaggerated. In late September and October the flower panicles open into a cloud of fine pink-purple filaments that appear to float a foot above the foliage. Planted in a drift, backlit by low sun, the effect is unlike anything else available.

Note the hardiness range: zones 6 to 10. This is a warm-climate plant, and in zone 5 and colder it is unreliable or seasonal at best. Northern gardeners wanting a comparable fall grass should look at little bluestem instead.

Growing it

Full sun, dry to medium soil, in sand, loam, or rocky ground, zones 6 to 10. Two to three feet.

Sharp drainage. It grows in beach sand naturally and rots in heavy wet clay, particularly over winter.

It tolerates salt spray and salty soil, which makes it one of the better choices for coastal plantings and for the strip along a road that gets winter salt.

Plant it in groups. A single plant is a pleasant mound. A drift of seven or eleven is the reason to grow it, and the pink reads as a mass rather than as individual plants.

Site it against a dark background where possible, and where afternoon or evening light will come through the panicles from behind.

What it feeds

The seed feeds small birds through the fall and winter, and the dense clumps give cover.

The foliage hosts several skipper caterpillars, as most native bunchgrasses do. The tufted base shelters overwintering insects, and ground-nesting bees use bare sandy soil between clumps.

It offers no nectar, since grasses are wind pollinated. It earns its place through habitat structure and through the display.

Living with it

Deer do not eat it.

Do not cut it back in fall. The panicles fade to a soft tan and hold their form through winter, and cutting in September removes the entire point of the plant.

Cut back to a few inches in late winter, before new growth starts. Do not divide unless the center dies out; it prefers to be left alone.

Sources: USDA PLANTS Database (native range); Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin (species profile); USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (coastal and salt tolerance notes).

It’s deer-resistant, drought-tolerant, salt-tolerant, showy, and good fall color.

Where it grows

Pink Muhly Grass is native to the Southeast. In the wild you’ll find it across Alabama · Arkansas · Delaware · Florida · Georgia · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maryland · Mississippi · Missouri and 11 more states. Always confirm it suits your specific county with your state native plant society before planting.

Regional Garden has written state guides covering Pink Muhly Grass in 21 of them so far.

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