Grasses are a special eye-catcher, especially when they grow taller. If you are looking for easy-care tall specimens that do well without pruning, you will find 17 grass examples with descriptions below.
In a nutshell
- no pruning mostly with evergreen grasses
- However, remove dead and dried stalks
- high and dense growing grasses ideal as a privacy screen
- partially also suitable for shady locations
Table of contents
- Blue oat (Helictotrichon sempervirens)
- pile reed (arundo)
- Umbrella Bamboo (Fargesia murielae)
- Schmelling (Deschampsia)
- Sedges (Carex)
- beach grass (Ammophila)
- frequently asked Questions
Blue oat (Helictotrichon sempervirens)
Blue Ray Oat 'Pendula'
This is a slow-growing, evergreen, extremely hardy and low-maintenance grass variety that is not has to be cut, but can also be cut back, so that it can be placed on a small balcony, for example finds.
- Growth form: arching, overhanging
- Growth height: up to 120 cm
- flower: creamy white; between July and August
- Location: sunny to semi-shady
Blue Ray Oat 'Sapphire Fizz'
The relatively slow-growing variety 'Saphirsprudel' presents itself very elegantly with its filigree panicles of flowers and, with their blue-grey leaves, bring color to the garden or patio even in winter Balcony.
- Growth form: basal tuft of leaves, arching-hanging
- Growth height: up to 120 cm
- flower: yellowish; between July and August
- Location: sunny
Tip: In extremely cold regions, the easy-care, tall blue-ray oat grasses are an ideal choice, because they are one of the hardy grass varieties and easily tolerate temperatures down to minus 29 degrees Celsius.
pile reed (arundo)
Common Reed (Arundo donax)
The giant reed is fast-growing, proliferates through rhizome formation, should overwinter with protection from the cold and needs a lot of space.
- Growth: 300 to 400 cm
- Growth habit: very upright, reedy, curved leaf tips
- flower: delicate white; rare and exclusively in warmer areas from July to August
- Location: sunny
White Pied Reed (Arundo donax 'Variegata')
This variety forms a subcategory of the common reed, which grows a little smaller and also differs from it in terms of the flower and the variegated leaves.
- Growth form: upright to arching
- Growth height: 200 to 300 cm
- flower: brownish; July to August
- Location: sunny
Tip: Pile reeds are hardy, but only down to minus 10 degrees Celsius. In any case, protection against the cold should be used in regions with cold winters.
Umbrella Bamboo (Fargesia murielae)
Garden Bamboo 'Bimbo'
A wind-resistant, rhizome-free and evergreen specimen is the garden bamboo 'Bimbo', which grows relatively slowly grows (20 to 30 cm per year), but develops with every centimeter into a dense, visually modern plant that likes to as privacy screen is set.
- Growth habit: wide, compact, almost round
- Growth height: 100 to 200 cm
- blossom: no
- Location: partial shade
Garden Bamboo 'Jumbo'
This evergreen, hardy and fast growing garden bamboo (25 to 50 cm per year) is a well-established variety with a beautiful growth habit that does not like drought.
- Growth habit: bushy, upright, slightly overhanging, umbrella-shaped
- Growth: 200 to 350 cm
- Flower: none
- Location: sun to semi-shade
Garden Bamboo 'Leasch'
This garden bamboo variety (15 to 40 cm per year) grows slightly slower than the 'Jumbo', but is just as impressive and without growing rampant.
- Growth: very dense, semi-upright, slightly overhanging
- Growth height: 250 to 300 cm
- Flower: none
- Location: penumbra; Sun only with high humidity
Garden Bamboo 'Superjumbo'
In an optimal location, this evergreen, easy-care bamboo quickly grows tall (20 to 50 cm per year) and only thin and old stalks need to be cut off.
- Growth form: bushy
- Growth height: 200 to 300 cm
- Flower: none
- Location: partial shade to shade
Tip: Bamboo does well with Asian plant neighbors. Because, like almost all grasses, it is not an insect-friendly plant, we recommend it flowering plants that do a positive service to the insect world, such as Asiatic lilies (Lilium Asiatic hybrids).
Schmelling (Deschampsia)
Grass Hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa)
The lawn hairgrass is a hardy, evergreen, perennial herbaceous plant that is native to Europe and has a high ornamental value.
- Growth habit: dense, bushy, rounded, compact
- Growth height: up to 150 cm, rarely up to 200 cm
- Flowers: from greenish to yellowish yellow to straw gold; June to August
- Location: sunny to semi-shady
Schmiele 'Scotland'
A real gem is this variety, which is fast-growing, airy and easy to integrate and is considered to be very frugal.
- Growth form: bushy, compact
- Growth height: up to 120 cm
- Flowers: bluish-yellow to brownish, from June to August
- Location: sun to shade
Schmiele 'dew bearer'
The 'Tauträger' variety is particularly popular because it can be used in many different ways and is very decorative all year round, above all thanks to the long-lasting fruit decoration.
- Growth form: hemispherical, inclined flower stalks
- Growth height: up to 120 cm
- flower: yellowish-green; from June to August
- Location: sun to semi-shade
Sedges (Carex)
Hanging sedge (Carex pendula)
The evergreen, fast-growing Carex pendula, which adorns many pond and wood edges as a solitary grass, presents itself sublimely and stylishly.
- Growth form: broad, bushy, arching, overhanging
- Growth height: up to 120 cm
- flower: greenish-brown; June to July
- Location: semi-shady to shady
A notice: If you want to prevent the tall, easy-care grasses from multiplying by self-sowing, you should cut back the sedge's seed heads before they can seed.
Panicle sedge (Carex paniculata)
This is one of the few low-maintenance, fast-growing, deciduous grasses that does not require pruning, just removing brown, dead leaves.
- Growth habit: densely bushy, rounded
- Growth height: up to 100 cm
- flower: light brown; May to June
- Location: sunny to semi-shady
Slender sedge (Carex acuta)
This is an extremely hardy grass that spreads through runners and, as a deciduous plant, also requires no pruning.
- Growth form: arched, inclined
- Growth height: up to 120 cm
- flower: greenish; June to July
- Location: sunny to semi-shady; swamp floor
Shore sedge (Carex riparia)
The bank sedge likes it moist and is characterized by the beautiful flowers, their robustness and the low maintenance requirement.
- Growth habit: tightly upright, compact, dense
- Growth height up to 120 cm
- Flowers: brown to dark brown to blackish; May to June
- location: sunny; Swamp zones in standing and slow-flowing water
beach grass (Ammophila)
American beach grass (Ammophila breviligulata)
This type of beach grass is also known as "blue beach grass", which does not appear evergreen, but still does not require pruning.
- Growth form: arching overhanging
- Growth height: up to 130 cm
- flower: grey-white; August to October
- location: sunny; likes sandy soil
Beachgrass (Ammophila arenaria)
The common beach grass is strong-growing, evergreen, tolerates drought particularly well and conjures up a coastal feeling in gardens and on balconies.
- Growth form: upright
- Growth height: up to 110 cm
- flower: yellowish; June to August
- location: sunny; likes sandy soil
frequently asked Questions
It is mainly the deciduous grasses that need pruning. Their stalks "dry up" in winter and serve purely to protect against the cold and must then be cut off to make room for fresh green again. However, exceptions confirm the rule, as the examples in the guide show.
Grass should always be first cut in spring when no longer lasting frost is to be expected. The “dried up” stalks from the winter season remain tied together for so long because they mainly serve to protect deciduous grasses from the cold. If cutting is used to control growth, garden shears can be used at any time between spring and late summer.
Theoretically, any tall grass can also be cultivated in containers if there is enough space and the site conditions are met. It should be noted, however, that evergreen grass species in the bucket should be watered occasionally during frost. In addition, the cold penetrates the bucket more intensively, so a wind-protected place should be chosen and, depending on sensitivity to cold, protection against the cold should also be used.