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    • Photo of Nassella tenuissima foliage by Avant Gardens

    Photo by Avant Gardens

    Used with permission, all rights reserved

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    Nassella tenuissima

    Also Known As

    • Nasella tenuissima
    • Stipa tenuissima
    • Mexican Feather Grass
    • Mexican Feather Grass
    • Pony Tails
    • Silky Thread Grass

    Plant type

    perennial, grass / grass like

    size

    • H: 24"
    • W: 12"

    planting zones

    • 7a-9b

    More Options

    Nassella tenuissima plant details

    Nassella tenuissima is a fast-growing semi-evergreen perennial grass (or grassy in appearance) with green foliage. In summer tan flowers emerge. Features grassy texture. Grows well with sun - mostly shade and even moisture - low water. Drought tolerant once established. Does well in average and well-drained soil. A good option if you're seeking something verticillium wilt resistant.

    CHARACTERISTICS OF Nassella tenuissima

    Plant type: perennial grass (or grassy in appearance)
    Plant family: poaceae
    Foliage: semi-evergreen green
    Mature size: 12 IN wide, 24 IN tall
    Flowers: tan blooms in summer
    Uses: border plant, clumping, container plant, cottage garden, rock garden, self-sowing, year round interest

    GROWING CONDITIONS for Nassella tenuissima

    USDA Zones: 7a - 9b
    Sun exposure: sun - mostly shade
    Watering frequency: even moisture - low
    Resistant to: deer, verticillium wilt
    Soil needs: average and well-drained

    Nursery contributed plant descriptions

    This fine-textured grass produces a 2' fountain of hair-fine foliage topped by silvery 3" flowers in late summer; a delicate and stunning companion waving gracefully in any breeze; can self-sow. S/M-D

    By: Forestfarm

    Zn 6. Large mounds of graceful hair-like foliage.

    By: Little Prince of Oregon

    This finest of light green grasses catches the light and sways in the breeze. Seedheads appear in summer as feathery pinkish tufts. Mexican Feather Grass is good in containers, as the foreground in a grass garden, or a dense slope cover. Some self-sowing. Minimum temperature: -10 °F

    By: Dancing Oaks Nursery

    Mentioned as long ago as Parkinson's time in the late 1500s and championed in the Victorian age along with many other grasses, feather grass is a soft cloud of bloom atop fine, silky stems. It glistens in the summer sun!

    By: Select Seeds

    One of the most beautiful of the grasses which forms a light airy clump. This grass is as good in mid-winter as mid-summer. It catches any bit of breeze, parting and moving. Superb as an accent point or used in a mass planting. Allow Rudbeckia or Echinacea to clump behind it for a see-through effect.

    By: Phoenix Perennials and Specialty Plants Ltd.

    The thread-like, bright green leaves of this ultra fine-textured grass form soft clumps to 2 or 3' high. Pliant, nodding panicles on slender stalks open bright green in late spring, then age to gold and finally bleach to creamy-white by fall. These feathery clumps wave gracefully in even the slightest breeze and offer drama and elegance to the garden, especially when combined with dark-leafed plants like Rhamnus 'Leatherleaf' or some of the darker Phormiums. Use singly or scattered in clumps as an effective groundcover, among boulders, or on slopes for erosion control. Prefers fertile well-drained soil in sun or partial shade with moderate garden water. Mexican feather grass self-sows invasively in gardens with constant moisture, but much less aggressively in dry gardens. Hardy to 0F. Southwestern United States, Mexico, and Argentina.

    By: Native Sons

    Mexican Feather Grass fine texture an silky green plumes in June that turn golden with maturity. Needle thin 1 1/2' leaves of bright green.Flops when grown in rich soil. Great for flower arrangements.

    By: Greer Gardens Inc.

    Mexican Feather Grass has proven to winter over for us more regularly here in zone 6, although we may be discoverig self sown seedlings. Where it is't reliably hardy it is often grown as an annual grass for the very fine foliage and delicate sprays of silky flowers which turn golden in late summer. 2'. Wonderful in flower arrangements, both fresh and dried. (Now being reclassified as Nassella teniussuma.)

    By: Avant Gardens

    The feathery seed heads on this bright green tall grass, to 2', make a delicate texture. Summer blooming, this is a clumping grass for full sun and well-drained soil. Useful in dried flower arrangements. Frost hardy in USDA zone 7.

    By: Cistus Nursery

    Produces feathery buff coloured plumes.

    By: Thompson's Nursery

    Gardening facts about Nassella tenuissima plant

    How to Grow Nassella tenuissima

    • Sun Exposure

      • sun - mostly shade

    • Water Needs

      • even moisture - drought tolerant

    • Soil Needs

      • average
      • well-drained

    • Special Situation

      • verticillium wilt resistant

    Features

    • Foliage Color

      • green

    • Flower Color

      • tan

    • Wildlife

      • deer resistant

    • Flower Season

      • summer

    • Foliage Season

      • semi-evergreen

    • Texture

      • grassy

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