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Astilbe and shade-loving ground covers at the MN Landscape Arboretum: Carex pensylvanica and lily of the valley. Photo: Mary Meyer, UMN Extension |
Shady favorites: Landscape and ornamental grasses
I know of no tall grasses (4 feet or more) that grow in shade. (Aruncus, goat’s beard, and Thalictrum, meadow rue, however, are tall shade loving perennials).![]() |
Carex pensylvanica under a maple tree. Photo: Mary Meyer, UMN Extension |
How to use in the landscape
In establishing these plants, water well in the first year or two, as many shady locations are dry sites with other established plants competing for moisture. Combine these grasses with bold textured hosta, perennial geraniums, lily of the valley, ferns and spring flowering bulbs (spring bulbs do not like wet feet in the summer) and you can create an interesting garden in the shade.Ornamental Grasses for Shade
Light shadePorcupine sedge (Carex hystericina)* Height: 2-3½ feet; self- seeds
Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica)* Height: 6-18 inches; weak rhizomes
Bowles golden sedge (Carex elata ‘Aurea’) Height: 1-3 feet; prefers wet sites
River oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) Height: 2-3½ feet
Tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia caespitosa)* Height: 2-4 feet
Eastern bottlebrush (Elymus hystrix var. hystrix)* Height: 2-3 feet
Hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra) Height: 2-3 feet
Hakone grass cultivars: Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’, ‘All Gold’ Height: 6-12 inches
Woodrush (Luzula sylvatica) Height: flowers 2 feet; basal foliage
Golden wood millet (Milium effusum ‘Aureum’) Height: 1-2 feet
Heavy shade
Carnation sedge (Carex flacca) Height: 10-18 inches; aggressive rhizomes
Palm sedge (Carex muskingumensis)* Height: 2-3½ feet
Long-stalked sedge (Carex pedunculata)* Height: 6-8 inches
Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica)* Height: 6-18 inches; weak rhizomes
River oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) Height: 2-3 ½ feet
Tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia caespitosa)* Height: 2-4 feet
Woodrush (Luzula sylvatica) Height: flowers 2 feet; basal foliage
Dry shade (under maple, box elder or spruce trees)
Carnation sedge (Carex flacca) Height: 10-18 inches; aggressive rhizomes
Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica)* Height: 6-18 inches; weak rhizomes
Eastern star sedge (Carex radiata)* Height: 6-12 inches
Blue fescue (Festuca glauca ‘Beyond Blue’, Cool as Ice’, 'Elijah Blue') Height: 6-12 inches
Blue oatgrass (Helictotrichon sempervirens) Height: 18-30 inches
* native to shady woods in Minnesota
Author: Mary H. Meyer, Extension Horticulturist and Professor