Growing drought-tolerant and shade-tolerant grasses

Essential components of contemporary landscape design, perennial grasses have become very popular, and for good reason.  They are the ultimate care-free plants.

• More diminutive and prized for its unusual coloured foliage, blue oat grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens) forms a 30- to 60-centimetres tall (12- to 25-inch-tall) tuft of spiky, metallic blue leaves.
• This drought-tolerant grass is a favourite for low-maintenance plantings.
• Blue fescue (Festuca glauca) looks like a miniature blue oat grass and flourishes under the same conditions.
• The most common cultivar is 'Elijah Blue', which stands a mere 15 to 20 centimetres (six to eight inches) tall and is a good choice for edgings or rock gardens, particularly in cold climates. Blue oat grass is hardy to Zone 4, but blue fescue will survive in Zone 3.
• Japanese blood grass (Imperata cylindrica 'Red Baron') gets its name from the brilliant red that tips the young chartreuse leaves and then expands to flush the whole stem ruby by fall.
• Never more than 30 centimetres (12 inches) tall, Japanese blood grass produces no flowers and spreads moderately, which can be controlled by division. It is hardy to Zone 5.

• There is also a plentiful variety of grasses and grasslike plants that grow in shade.
• The sedges (Carex spp.) are the most shade tolerant, needing only indirect light.
• C. siderosticha 'Variegata' produces thick, arching mounds of white-rimmed, lance-shaped leaves.
• At 30 centimetres (12 inches) tall and with a slow-spreading nature, it's a natural choice for edging or groundcover use.
• Sedge selections are numerous, are generally hardy to Zone 4, and include many shades of green.
• Golden hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola') has golden bamboolike leaves that form a lax, 30-centimetre-tall (12-inch-tall) mop-head shape.
• It is particular about growing conditions, disliking dry or poorly drained soil.
• This grass looks best when it receives a couple of hours of morning sun and enough room for its leaves to drape naturally.
• It is hardy to Zone 5, but gardeners in colder climates can grow it in pots and keep it through winter in an unheated garage.
• Northern sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) is a North American native that makes a soft screen or backdrop for flowers.
• Growing to 1.5 metres (five feet), it has slender stalks with fresh green bladelike leaves and flattened flower heads that dangle gracefully from the stems.
• Hardy to Zone 5, it turns yellowish tan in autumn.

Choosing the right grass for your yard is essential to making your yard beautiful and as maintenance-free as possible. Be sure to examine your yard and climate before committing to a specific strain of grass; what looks best is not always the best choice. Ask your local nursery what types of grass will succeed in your area.