How to Grow and Care for Pink Muhly Grass

Most ornamental grasses thrive without the addition of fertilizer. Too much nitrogen can even have a detrimental effect on plants like pink muhly grass and cause the shoots to become limp. It’s best to do a soil test to determine whether or not your soil nutrients need a boost.

Muhlenbergia capillaris

Muhly grass is an absolute showstopper source of late-season color. As a native ornamental grass, it is a great complement to those landscape beds with fading summer annuals. The delicate plumes of flower panicles create a striking pink haze above the dark green, glossy foliage.

Muhly grass is native to the central and eastern parts of the United States and south to Mexico and Guatemala. This grass is found naturally in clay or thin rocky soils, especially in those soils that were formerly burned and prairie-like. They are also found in open woodlands, savannas, dry woodlands, and the mountains around rock outcrops.

The genus, Muhlenbergia, was named after Gotthilf Muhlenberg, a botanist, chemist, and mineralogist. He is credited with classifying and naming at least 150 species of plants in his Index Flora Lancastriensis, published in 1785. He lived from 1753-1815. The specific epithet, capillaris, means fine or hair-like.

This perennial is attractive individually but makes a big show when used in a mass planting. Delicate pink flowers mature on long, narrow, wiry leaves in the fall. The grass produces tiny, purplish seeds. Pink muhly grass can reach a height of 4 feet and a width of 3 feet. Give it plenty of sunshine and transplant it into well-drained soil.

A North American native, pink muhly grass sounds too good to be true. Long-lived, with little to no insect or disease pests, and highly resistant to deer grazing, this ornamental grass is perfect for the low-maintenance garden. Muhly grass tolerates heat, humidity, drought, and poor soil and is highly salt tolerant. It is adaptable to home or commercial landscapes. Plant in groups or masses for fall season color.

Seasons of Interest:

Bloom: Fall Foliage: Summer and Fall

Quick ID Hints:

• clumping warm-season perennial grass
• wiry, thread-like, dark green leaves and stems from 2 to 3 feet tall
• pink to pinkish-red, airy, open blooms appear to float above the foliage in the fall
• tan seed plumes add winter interest

Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Muhly grass had no serious insects or disease issues.

VIDEO created by Andy Pulte for “Landscape Plant Identification, Taxonomy, and Morphology” a plant identification course offered by the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee.

• ‘Lenca’
• ‘Regal Mist”‘
• ‘White Cloud’
  Upright, open, airy white flowers, bloom after pink, resistant to tar spot

• ‘Lenca’
• ‘Regal Mist”‘
• ‘White Cloud’
  Upright, open, airy white flowers, bloom after pink, resistant to tar spot

• Attributes: Genus: Muhlenbergia Species: capillaris Family: Poaceae Life Cycle: Perennial Recommended Propagation Strategy: Division Seed Country Or Region Of Origin: Central and Eastern U.S.A. to Guatemala and Caribbean Distribution: United States: AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MO, MS, NC, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, and WV; Bahamas, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Wildlife Value: Provides excellent cover year-round. Seeds are eaten by songbirds and small mammals. Attracts butterflies. Play Value: Attractive Flowers Wildlife Cover/Habitat Wildlife Food Source Dimensions: Height: 2 ft. 0 in. – 3 ft. 0 in. Width: 2 ft. 4 in. – 3 ft. 0 in.

• Whole Plant Traits: Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial Native Plant Ornamental Grasses and Sedges Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics: Deciduous Habit/Form: Clumping Erect Mounding Growth Rate: Medium Maintenance: Low Texture: Fine

• Cultural Conditions: Light: Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) Soil Texture: Clay Loam (Silt) Sand Shallow Rocky Soil pH: Acid (<6.0) Alkaline (>8.0) Neutral (6.0-8.0) Soil Drainage: Good Drainage Moist Occasionally Dry Very Dry Available Space To Plant: 3 feet-6 feet NC Region: Coastal Mountains Piedmont USDA Plant Hardiness Zone: 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b

• Fruit: Fruit Color: Brown/Copper Fruit Value To Gardener: Long-lasting Display/Harvest Time: Fall Fruit Type: Caryopsis Fruit Length: < 1 inch Fruit Description: Seed is in the form of grain, and the tan seed plumes are attractive through the winter. The seed fruits are inconspicuous, small, dry, hard, oval, and available from September through November.

• Flowers: Flower Color: Cream/Tan Pink Purple/Lavender Red/Burgundy Flower Inflorescence: Panicle Raceme Flower Value To Gardener: Showy Flower Bloom Time: Fall Flower Size: > 6 inches Flower Description: Airy inflorescence often colored pink, purplish red, or purplish gray; dries to a light buff; up to 12 inches long. Flowers bloom from September through November.

• Leaves: Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics: Deciduous Leaf Color: Green Leaf Value To Gardener: Long-lasting Showy Deciduous Leaf Fall Color: Cream/Tan Leaf Type: Simple Leaf Arrangement: Alternate Leaf Shape: Linear Leaf Margin: Entire Hairs Present: No Leaf Length: > 6 inches Leaf Width: < 1 inch Leaf Description: The leaves are green, linear, simple, alternate, and measure 18 to 36 inches long with entire margins. Fine-textured basal foliage

• Stem: Stem Is Aromatic: No

• Landscape: Landscape Location: Coastal Container Meadow Naturalized Area Recreational Play Area Riparian Woodland Landscape Theme: Children’s Garden Cottage Garden Drought Tolerant Garden Native Garden Design Feature: Border Mass Planting Attracts: Butterflies Small Mammals Songbirds Resistance To Challenges: Black Walnut Deer Drought Erosion Heat Humidity Pollution Poor Soil Salt

Muhlenbergia capillaris

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How to Grow and Care for Pink Muhly Grass

Erica Puisis writes about home products for The Spruce and specializes in interior design and plant care. She’s contributed to Forbes and smart home blogs like Smart Home Solver and TechDigg.

Debra LaGattuta is a Master Gardener with 30+ years of experience in perennial and flowering plants, container gardening, and raised bed vegetable gardening. She is a lead gardener in a Plant-A-Row, which is a program that offers thousands of pounds of organically-grown vegetables to local food banks. Debra is a member of The Spruce Garden Review Board.

Pink muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) is not only a beautiful ornamental grass, but it’s also low-maintenance. It doesn’t require much in the way of time and attention to make the most of this showy plant. These plants grow at a moderate rate and are best planted in the spring or in the fall—at least a month before the initial frost is expected.

In the spring and summer, the slender, long shoots of grass are green in color. As the fall approaches, the plant produces soft, fuzzy flowers in pink or pinkish-red hues which are often compared to the appearance of cotton candy. As winter grows near, the flowers lose their color but the dried plumes continue to offer visual appeal throughout the dormant season.

Light

Pink muhly grass needs to be planted in full to partial sunlight. It can tolerate some shade, but for proper growth and blooming, the grass requires at least six hours of sunlight (or more) each day.

Soil

The most important thing to know is that this type of grass requires dry-to-medium, well-draining soil. If the soil becomes too wet or boggy, pink muhly grass will not thrive.

In terms of soil pH, this plant prefers slightly acidic to neutral soils. It does not grow well in alkaline soils with a pH higher than 7.0.

Pink muhly grass tolerates salinity exceptionally well. So soil with elevated salt content due to irrigation, mineral weatherization, or road salt is generally not a problem for growing this type of grass.

Water

Once pink muhly grass is established, it doesn’t require much in the way of regular irrigation if rainfall is sufficient. It’s considered to be drought-tolerant and prefers soil moisture to be dry-to-medium. There’s no need to run for the watering can if you experience short bouts of dry weather. The deep roots of this grass plant enable it to thrive even in dry, hot conditions.

However, if the soil surrounding the plant becomes dry to a depth of two inches or more, apply about an inch of water. As mentioned, be sure that the soil is well-draining and doesn’t become overly saturated.

Temperature and Humidity

Pink muhly grass flourishes in warm, dry weather. While it’s native as far north as Massachusetts, it’s often found in abundance in hot, dry climates where it grows well and returns year after year. And while this plant has no problem with warm weather, too much humidity can affect it negatively and might increase susceptibility to tar spot, a fungal plant disease.

This plant is only hardy to USDA cold hardiness zone 6, meaning it can’t tolerate winter temperatures much below minus-10 degrees Fahrenheit without dying off. In such cases, choose a more cold-tolerant, hardy ornamental grass.

Fertilizer

Most ornamental grasses thrive without the addition of fertilizer. Too much nitrogen can even have a detrimental effect on plants like pink muhly grass and cause the shoots to become limp. It’s best to do a soil test to determine whether or not your soil nutrients need a boost.

Types of Pink Muhly Grass

Pink muhly grass is only one type of muhly grass. Many more types and hybrids are not as readily available as the traditional pink muhly grass. Here are several muhly grass cultivars to consider planting:

• ‘White Cloud’: This billowy grass offers creamy upright flowers.
• ‘Rose Muhly’: The grass has loose pinkish-reddish blooms and grows smaller than most other pink muhly grasses.
• ‘Pink Flamingo’: This grass is a hybrid of M. lindheimer and pink muhly grass with bright pink flowers and slender evergreen leaves.
• ‘Undaunted® Ruby’: This grass is native to Texas and has feathery, reddish blooms that gracefully arch over.
• ‘Regal Mist’: A fast-growing grass, this pink muhly grass grows to only about four feet tall with pinkish-reddish flowers.

Pruning

This perennial plant will benefit from being cut back in the late winter or early spring but no later than that and before the growing season begins. Be sure not to cut too close to the crown of the plant—a distance of at least three to four inches should be sufficient.

Avoid pruning this plant in mid-to-late summer because doing so can interfere with the production of the beautiful plumes of flowers for which pink muhly grass is known.

Propagating Pink Muhly Grass

A stand of showy pink muhly grass can become a real show-stopping display that can be created by propagation. These plants are relatively easy to propagate by either seed collection or division. In fact, dividing pink muhly grass plants typically becomes necessary every few years to keep them tidy and maintain necessary spacing between individual plants. Otherwise, the plant continues to spread and a dead area can form in the center of the clump. To propagate by division, follow these steps:

1. Using a shovel or spade, dig around the perimeter of an individual plant, and then be sure to dig deep enough under the plant to free the root ball.
2. Split the plant into two or three equal parts, depending on the size of the root ball. Keep in mind that ornamental grasses can have very dense, fibrous root systems. It might take a sharp tool or even a chainsaw to divide the root system. Use caution and wear personal protective equipment.
3. Place one division of the plant back into the original hole. The remaining sections can be relocated or passed along to a friend for planting in their garden.

How to Grow Pink Muhly Grass From Seed

Growing pink muhly from seed is easy, but be prepared to wait a season to see blooms after seedlings are transplanted into the ground. To propagate by seed, you’ll need to collect the brown seeds that collect in the flower plumes. Once the brilliant pink or reddish hues have faded from the flowers in late fall, it’s time to collect the seeds. You can comb the plume to release the seeds—leaving the dried flowering grass intact for some visual interest through the winter season. Once you have collected the seeds, follow these simple steps:

1. Plant the seeds in early spring, either indoors or you can direct sow them outside in a sheltered area if the climate is favorable enough.
2. Pink muhly grass seeds need light in order to germinate, so sow them on top of a layer of soil but don’t cover them with soil.
3. Mist with water to maintain moisture until the seeds begin to sprout, which should be in about two weeks.

Common Pests

The main pest that can make its home on pink muhly grass is the mealybug. If there are mealybugs on your plant, the plumes might look frothy and white because of the pest’s white residue. You can hose the pests off the plant with a hard stream of water or spra with neem oil.

Common Problems With Pink Mulhy Grass

The only issue you might encounter with pink mulhy grass is its lack of pink froth in the fall. If this is the case, here are some reasons why the plant is not blooming, which can be easily resolved:

• Dehydrated because of extreme drought conditions
• Not enough sun—full sun is best for better blooms
• Pruned in the spring/summer which thwarted seed head development
• Planted too close together and packed clumps lack air circulation

This perennial species of grass is native to the eastern United States, stretching from Massachusetts to Florida and as far west as Texas and Kansas. However today, the species is endangered in New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, and Indiana. It’s extirpated in Pennsylvania and presumably also Ohio.

It’s possible to grow this ornamental grass in any type of pot with drainage holes. Make sure the container at least 12 inches deep so the plant can grow well enough to sway in the breeze. Keep the container in full sunlight for best blooms.

This grass will look beautiful swaying in the back of garden beds, lining a driveway or pathway, or used as a focal point on the horizon of your property. Lower-growing types of the grass will do fine in front of a garden bed, too.

What companion plants go well with pink mulhy grass?

The grass can be tricky to pair because it goes through many phases. Blooming pink mulhy grass looks stunning when paired with succulents for a soft landscape look. If you prefer a bolder look, pair pink mulhy grass with plants with profuse blooms in the late summer and early fall, such as yellow ‘Low Down’ sunflowers that are dwarf in stature.

The clumping nature of the grass makes it attractive for nesting rabbits, small mammals, and birds. The plant is known to attract ladybugs, a beneficial insect. The plant is also deer resistant.

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1. “Featured Plant: Pink Muhly Grass.” The High Line, 22 Sept. 2019, https://www.thehighline.org/blog/2019/09/22/featured-plant-pink-muhly-grass/