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
Zn 6. Large mounds of graceful hair-like foliage.
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
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!
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.
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.
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.)
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.
Produces feathery buff coloured plumes.

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

  • Flower Season

    • summer
  • Foliage Color

    • green
  • Flower Color

    • tan
  • Texture

    • grassy
  • Foliage Season

    • semi-evergreen
  • Wildlife

    • deer resistant
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