A Small Ornamental Grass for the Garden
Ruby grass (Melinus nerviglumus) ranks among the showiest of the small ornamental grasses. This tightly clumped grass looks dramatic in the landscape, whether it’s planted singly, in masses or mixed with flowering perennials. It also works well as a container specimen.
In 2022, Melinus nerviglumus was named Grass of the Year by the Nebraska-based GreatPlants program.
Pink flowers top the blue-green foliage of ruby grass in late summer. They become feathery white seed heads in autumn, as the grass takes on red tones.
Common name: Ruby grass
Botanical name: Melinus nerviglumus
Exposure: Full sun
Flowers: This grass is known for the fluffy, ruby-pink plumes it produces in late summer and into fall. The flower panicles are covered with graceful, glistening, silky hairs that slowly fade to white.
Foliage: Fine blades of foliage look blue-green during the growing season and often turns purplish red in the fall.
Habit: Upright, vase-shaped grass to two feet tall and one foot wide.
Origin: Southern Africa and Southeast Asia
How to grow it: A warm-season grass, ruby grass thrives in the heat of summer. It is drought-tolerant, but it performs better with more consistent moisture. It needs good drainage. Though it’s a tender perennial, clumps can be potted up in fall before the first frost for overwintering indoors with reduced watering. Site in full sun. USDA Zones 8–10.
Image courtesy of GreatPlants
