Two popular taller grasses are Calamagrostis acutiflora or 'Karl Foerster', feather reedgrass, and varieties of the Miscanthus sinensis 'Purpurascens', red flame miscanthus. (Miscanthus sacchaflorus is a fast-spreading variety, not a clump grass). The feather reedgrass is a vertical form of the clump grass of 4½ feet and has stiff upright flowers that are pink in July, turning beige by August. The Miscanthus sinensis, the clump grass, grows to four to five feet tall and has an orange fall color with attractive blooms that last most of the winter. Another variety of Miscanthus sinensis, M. floridulus, can grow to eight to 10 feet tall.
Two others are Panicum virgatum 'Haense Herms' or switchgrass and Spodiopogon sibericus or silver spikegrass. The switchgrass grows to five feet tall and has lovely red-tinged foliage and red flowers. The spikegrass grows to 4½ feet tall and gives a thick clump of bamboo-like foliage with bronze fall color.
Native grasses such as Andropogon or big bluestem, Sorghastrum nutans, or indiangrass are also taller attractive varieties worth growing.
For more information on ornamental grasses, check: Ornamental Grasses for Minnesota.
