Muhly Grass
The pink-cloud native grass that made mass plantings famous.
Muhlenbergia capillaris
The one that turns a whole bed into a pink cloud every fall.
Why it works here
This is a true Florida native found in coastal and inland counties across the state, so it already knows how to live in our sandy soil and sun. For most of the year it's a tidy mound of thin dark green blades, then in mid to late fall it throws up a haze of pink to purple flower stalks that catch the low light. I use it in masses along a walk or as a see through screen. Small birds pick at the seeds when it's done blooming.
Care
Water new plants regularly for the first few months while roots take hold, then back off, this grass would rather be dry than wet. It needs no feeding in decent ground, a little compost worked in at planting is plenty. Skip synthetic fertilizer, it just makes the clump floppy. Cut the whole clump back to a few inches in late winter, before the new spring growth pushes, and it comes back fuller. You can divide a mature clump in early spring if you want more.
Common problems
This is close to trouble free. The main way people kill it is kindness: too much water or a spot that stays soggy will rot the crown, so plant it high and dry. In too much shade it flops and blooms poorly, the fix is simply more sun. It self seeds a little, which is easy to pull if you don't want the volunteers.
Common questions
Why did my muhly grass not turn pink?
Almost always not enough sun, or it was sheared at the wrong time and you cut off the fall flower stalks. Give it full sun and only cut it back in late winter.
Do I need to cut it back every year?
You don't have to, but one hard cut to a few inches in late winter keeps it looking full instead of building up a brown thatch in the center over time.
Will it spread and take over?
No. It stays as a clump. It drops a few seeds that you can pull if you want, but it isn't a runner and won't swallow a bed.
Interested in a muhly grass in your landscape?
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