Ornamental grass · North Texas care guide
Muhlenbergia capillaris
Nursery Pro tip: In October it turns into a pink cloud. Plant in threes and stand back.
Ordinary green grass for ten months, and then in October it throws a three-foot cloud of pink-purple haze that stops traffic. A Texas native, drought-proof, and the single best fall plant we sell.
Full sun — shade means no bloom — and drainage. Poor soil is fine. Space 2–3 ft apart, and plant it where the late afternoon sun can shine through the plumes; backlit is when it's spectacular.
Spring, so it roots through the warm season. Hole twice the pot width, ball at grade, native soil, Root Stimulator, thin mulch.
Weekly the first summer, then rarely.
None. Fertilizer makes it flop.
Cut back to 6 in in late February, before the new growth starts — that's the only maintenance it gets all year. Leave the plumes standing all winter; they catch frost and light. Divide every four or five years if the center dies out.
Rot in wet soil. Too much shade or fertilizer means fewer plumes. Nothing else.
Mass three or more — one muhly is a plant, five is a picture. With Texas sage, autumn sage, lantana, yucca and Mexican bush sage, under a Chinese pistache.
Written for Rockwall's black clay, heat and winters by the Landscape Source team. Every yard is different — bring a photo by, or ask LS-Ai, and we'll tailor it to your spot.