Plant family
Ornamental grasses & bamboo — Poaceae & allies
301 species across 38 genera in the Growli library
Ornamental grasses, sedges, rushes and bamboos are grown for movement, texture and structure rather than flowers — from low blue fescues to towering miscanthus, pampas grass and running or clumping bamboo.
Browse ornamental grasses & bamboo by genus
Carex (42)Miscanthus (22)Festuca (16)Pennisetum (15)Phyllostachys (14)Calamagrostis (13)Panicum (13)Bambusa (12)Juncus (11)Fargesia (10)Hakonechloa (9)Molinia (9)Pleioblastus (9)Zea (8)Stipa (8)Cortaderia (8)Muhlenbergia (7)Luzula (7)Cyperus (6)Deschampsia (5)Andropogon (5)Schizachyrium (5)Chusquea (5)Cymbopogon (4)Sesleria (4)Eragrostis (4)Briza (4)Melica (4)Sasa (4)Nassella (3)Bouteloua (3)Sporobolus (3)Uncinia (2)Anemanthele (2)Arundo (2)Imperata (1)Chasmanthium (1)Saccharum (1)
All ornamental grasses & bamboo we cover
- 'Glass Gem' Corn
- 'Painted Mountain' Corn
- Adagio Maiden Grass
- African feather grass
- Afro Hard Rush
- all gold Japanese forest grass
- Alphonse Karr Bamboo
- Amazon Mist Sedge
- Asian Wonder Bamboo
- Aureola Japanese Forest Grass
- Autumn Moor Grass
- autumn red grass
- Avalanche Feather Reed Grass
- Avalanche Reed Grass
- Baby Sweetcorn
- Bamboo Muhly
- beautiful feather grass
- Beni-kaze Hakone Grass
- Big Bluestem
- Bisset's Bamboo
- Black Bamboo
- Black Flowering Sedge
- Black sedge
- Black-Headed Fountain Grass
- Black-Seeded Melic
- Blonde Ambition Blue Grama
- Blonde Ambition Rush
- Blonde Sedge
- Bloody Butcher Corn
- Blue Fescue
- Blue Grama Grass
- Blue Heaven Little Bluestem
- Blue Moor Grass
- Blue sedge
- Blue Zinger Sedge
- bluejoint reedgrass
- Boulder Blue Fescue
- Bowles Golden Sedge
- Broadleaf Bamboo
- Bronze Sedge
- Broomsedge Bluestem
- Buddha's Belly Bamboo
- Bush Muhly
- Bushgrass
- Bushy Bluestem
- California Fescue
- Carex pendula
- Carex riparia 'Variegata'
- Carousel Little Bluestem
- Chilean Bamboo
- Chinese Dwarf Bamboo
- Chinese Timber Bamboo
- Citronella Grass
- Clumping Bamboo
- Clumping Blue Bamboo
- Common Bamboo
- Common Quaking Grass
- Common Rush
- Corkscrew Rush
- Corn
- Creeping broad-leaf sedge
- Creeping Little Bluestem
- Crown Bamboo
- Curly-Wurly Rush
- Cyperus alternifolius
- Cyperus involucratus
- Cyperus longus
- Cyperus papyrus
- Cyperus Sedge
- Cyperus-Like Sedge
- Dagger-Leaf Rush
- Deer Grass
- Dragon-Head Bamboo
- Dwarf Bamboo
- Dwarf Fernleaf Bamboo
- Dwarf Greenstripe Bamboo
- Dwarf Pampas Grass
- Dwarf Papyrus
- Dwarf Whitestripe Bamboo
- East Indian Lemongrass
- Elijah Blue Fescue
- Elk Blue Rush
- European feather grass
- Everflame Hook Sedge
- Evergold Japanese Sedge
- Evergold Sedge
- evergreen miscanthus
- feather grass
- feathertop grass
- Female Bamboo
- Ferner Osten Maiden Grass
- Field Wood Rush
- Fingered Sedge
- Fountain Bamboo
- Frosted Curls Sedge
- Giant Chinese Silver Grass
- Giant Feather Grass
- giant reed grass
- Giant Sacaton
- Giant Sacaton Grass
- Giant South American Bamboo
- Giant Thorny Bamboo
- Giant Timber Bamboo
- Glaucous Sedge
- Gold Dew Tufted Hair Grass
- Golden Bamboo
- Golden Bantam Sweetcorn
- golden fescue
- Golden Goddess Bamboo
- Golden Hakone Grass
- Golden-Hair Bamboo
- Goldtau Hair Grass
- Goldtau Tufted Hair Grass
- Gracillimus Maiden Grass
- Gray's sedge
- Great Pond Sedge
- Great Wood Rush
- Greater Quaking Grass
- Greater Woodrush
- Green Glaucous Bamboo
- Green Moor Grass
- Green Panda Bamboo
- Grey Moor Grass
- Grey sedge
- Gulf Muhly
- Hair sedge
- Hairy Woodrush
- Hakonechloa All Gold
- Hameln Dwarf Fountain Grass
- Hameln Fountain Grass
- Hard Rush
- Heavy Metal Switch Grass
- Heavy Metal Switchgrass
- Hedge Bamboo
- Hedgehog Fescue
- Hook Sedge
- Huron Sunrise Miscanthus
- Ice Dance Japanese Sedge
- Ice Dance Sedge
- Idaho fescue
- Indian Timber Bamboo
- Intense Blue Fescue
- Iridescent Bamboo
- Japanese Blood Grass
- Japanese forest grass
- Japanese Timber Bamboo
- Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass
- Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass
- Karl Foerster Reed Grass
- Karley Rose Fountain Grass
- Karley Rose Oriental Fountain Grass
- Korean feather reed grass
- Kuma Bamboo Grass
- Kuril Bamboo
- large blue fescue
- Leatherleaf Sedge
- Lemongrass
- Lesser Pond Sedge
- Lesser Quaking Grass
- Lindheimer's Muhly
- Little Bluestem
- Little Bunny Fountain Grass
- Little Kitten Dwarf Maiden Grass
- little silver spider grass
- Maiden Grass
- Maire's fescue
- Malepartus silver grass
- Many-Flowered Rush
- Marginata Wood Rush
- meadow fountain grass
- Mediterranean feather grass
- Mexican Feather Grass
- Moor Witch Purple Moor Grass
- Morning Light Maiden Grass
- Moso Bamboo
- Moudry Black Fountain Grass
- Muhly Grass
- Mutton Bird Sedge
- Naked Bamboo
- Naomi Hakone Grass
- narrow small-reed
- Narrow-Leaf Fountain Bamboo
- Needle Grass
- Nicholas Hakone Grass
- Northern Sea Oats
- Northwind Switch Grass
- Northwind Switchgrass
- Nude Sheath Bamboo
- Orange New Zealand sedge
- oriental fountain grass
- Overdam Feather Reed Grass
- Overdam Variegated Feather Reed Grass
- palm sedge
- Palm sedge
- Palmarosa
- Palmetto Sedge
- Pampas Grass
- Path Rush
- Penisetum massaicum Red Bunny Tails
- Pennsylvania Sedge
- Pheasant Tail Grass
- Pheasant's Tail Grass
- Pink Muhly Grass
- Pink Pampas Grass
- Pink Pampas Grass
- Plantain-Leaved Sedge
- Pony Tails Grass
- Popcorn
- Porcupine Grass
- Prairie Dropseed
- Prairie Fire Switch Grass
- Prairie Sky switch grass
- Prairie Sky Switchgrass
- Pumila Dwarf Pampas Grass
- Pumila Pampas Grass
- Punting-Pole Bamboo
- Purple Fountain Grass
- Purple Love Grass
- Purple Moor Grass
- Purple Needlegrass
- Purple Siberian Melic
- Purpurascens Flame Grass
- Pygmy Bamboo
- Quaking Grass
- Quila Bamboo
- Ravenna Grass
- Red Fescue
- red head fountain grass
- Red Margin Bamboo
- Red Ray Switchgrass
- Red Rooster Sedge
- Robert Young Bamboo
- Rotstrahlbusch Switch Grass
- Ruby Ribbons Switch Grass
- Rufa Fountain Bamboo
- Sacchariflorus Silver Grass
- Sand Bluestem
- Sand Lovegrass
- Sand Sedge
- Sheep's Fescue
- Shenandoah Switch Grass
- Shenandoah Switchgrass
- Side Oats Grama
- Silberfeder Silver Feather Grass
- Silver Feather Grass
- silver spike grass
- Simon Bamboo
- Siskiyou Blue Idaho Fescue
- Sky Rocket Feather Top
- Skyracer Moor Grass
- Small Japanese Silver Grass
- Snowy Wood Rush
- Snowy Woodrush
- Sparkler Palm Sedge
- spiked sedge
- Splitbeard Bluestem
- Stricta Feather Reed Grass
- Strictus Porcupine Grass
- Stripe It Rich Hakone Grass
- Sunningdale Silver Pampas Grass
- Sweetcorn
- Swordleaf Rush
- Tall Moor Grass
- tall purple moor grass
- teff grass
- The Blues Little Bluestem
- Thorny Bamboo
- Tiger Nut
- Toe toe
- Toffee Twist Sedge
- Transparent Moor Grass
- Transparent Tall Moor Grass
- Tsubo Bamboo Grass
- Tsuboii Bamboo
- Tufted Fescue
- Tufted Hair Grass
- Tussock Needlegrass
- Umbrella Bamboo
- Valais fescue
- Valdivia Bamboo
- Variegata Purple Moor Grass
- Variegated Giant Reed
- Variegated Greater Pond Sedge
- Variegated Purple Moor Grass
- variegated silver grass
- Variegated Yellow Sedge
- Wallis Fescue
- wavy hair grass
- Weaver's Bamboo
- Weeping Brown Sedge
- Weeping Love Grass
- White-Powder Bamboo
- Witchgrass
- Wood Melic
- Wood Melick
- Wood Sedge
- wood small-reed
- Yellow Groove Bamboo
- Zebra Grass
- Zebrinus Zebra Grass
- Zigzag Bamboo
Ornamental grasses & bamboo — frequently asked questions
Are ornamental grasses & bamboo toxic to cats and dogs?
Most ornamental grasses & bamboo are pet-safe. Of the 301 ornamental grasses & bamboo we cover, 212 are non-toxic on the ASPCA list and 89 carry a toxic or mildly-toxic rating. Even in a mostly-safe family, confirm the individual species before trusting it around pets.
How much light do ornamental grasses & bamboo need?
Most ornamental grasses & bamboo want plenty of direct sun — 191 of the 301 in our library do best there. If yours stretches toward the window or loses its variegation it needs more light; scorched or bleached leaves mean it is getting too much.
Are ornamental grasses & bamboo easy to care for?
Some ornamental grasses & bamboo suit experienced growers — several want strong light, sharp drainage or a specific seasonal rhythm. Check the individual species page for the exact regime before you buy.
What is the Poaceae & allies family?
The Poaceae & allies family — the ornamental grasses & bamboo — groups 301 species across 38 genera in the Growli library, most prominently Carex, Miscanthus, Festuca. Members share a broadly similar light, water and soil pattern, which is why it pays to learn the family before the individual plant.
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