9 Alternatives to Pampas Grass to Plant This Season

Pampas grass is one of those sturdy landscape plants widely used in warm climates for its adaptable/indestructible qualities. It grows almost anywhere wth rugged durability. Some of us inherit the large specimens in a given landscape, battling it with cutback and deciding whether to tackle removal or leave it standing, removing its plumes before they seed. Because of its vigorous seed production, the grass has invasive qualities and can displace native species.

As a group, ornamental grasses add landscape value. Ecologically, they provide seeds and shelter for birds, beneficial insects, and other wildlife. They aid in erosion control and often need minimal resources to thrive. Ornamentally, they add sway and texture to the arrangement. Because of these merits, we should include them in the perennial or shrub border, ensuring we commit to the right selections for our site.

In deciding which grasses to grow for longevity, there are a number of airy alternatives to pampas and other invasives that are challenging to eradicate once established. Instead, opt for native species and their cultivars suited to your growing region. These are a safe bet for attractive ornamental grasses that still possess a rugged nature with a more refined appeal.

About Pampas

Cortaderia selloana has prolific, striking plumes that rise above long, slender, arching blades. The vigorous perennials thrive in heat, humidity, and poor, sandy soils. They’re often used to screen utility boxes, in tough spots with high sun, and in eroded sites.

Pampas can escape cultivation and spread into natural areas. The plumes produce up to 100,000 seeds each, which can spread 20 miles on the wind. It displaces other plant communities, including natives. It is aggressive in much of its range and invasive in semi-arid and subtropical climes from Texas to California, Hawaii, southern Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

Let’s dive into pampas grass alternatives that are just as showy and durable, with wide-ranging adaptability, some even suited to cooler climates. 

Switchgrass

	botanical name Panicum virgatum
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 3-5’
	hardiness zones 5-9

Switchgrass is a versatile, ornamental native North American prairie grass that grows across soil types, moisture levels, and light conditions. The durable perennial prefers lean soils to overly rich ones, tolerates dry situations, and withstands occasional flooding. 

‘Northwind’ is a structural variety with tall, columnar blades. The robust blue-green foliage is rigid and upright.  In summer, green and maroon plumes wave above the leaves. The foliage turns gold in the fall before drying to light tan. ‘Cheyenne Sky’ begins blue-green and transitions to wine red in early summer, with plumes to match.

Switchgrass has deep roots that make it heat and drought-tolerant. They’re useful in erosion control and revegetation sites, in addition to border specimens, rain gardens, and naturalized arrangements.

For extended interest and ecological benefits, don’t cut ornamental grasses back over the winter. Keep them intact until early spring to enjoy the dried plumes and blades. The seedheads provide food for birds and small mammals, and the leaves shelter opportunities for wildlife and overwintering pollinators.

Big Bluestem

	botanical name Andropogon gerardii
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 5’
	hardiness zones 3-9

Big bluestem makes a statement in height and color with leaves that emerge early in the season. Once the hallmark of American tallgrass prairies, bluestem is long-lived. The tall, gently arching ornamentals are useful in screening, as back-of-the-border specimens, and in naturalized plantings.

‘Blackhawks’ is a unique variety in dark green and purple, bringing high contrast in color and texture. Foliage transitions to near black in cool temperatures. The stiffly upright stems hold fine-textured burgundy inflorescences and seeds.

Big bluestem adapts to various moisture and soil situations with good drainage. While it prefers regular moisture, the species also withstands drought once established.

Feather Reed Grass

	botanical name Calamagrostis x acutiflora
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 3-6’
	hardiness zones 5-11

Feather reed grass makes a graceful specimen in the mixed border, with seedheads that appear golden in the sun. The hybrid species naturally occurred at the Hamburg Botanic Garden when two parent species from Europe, Asia, and Africa crossed. 

The most well-known and prized variety of feather reed is ‘Karl Foerster,’ with bronzey-erd feathery panicles that turn deep gold in autumn. The seedheads persist into winter (though the seeds are sterile and won’t germinate). ‘Karl Foerster’ is a cool-season grass that does most of its growing and producing in cool temperatures of spring and fall. While heat-tolerant, growth slows in summer, but color holds well.

‘Karl Foerster’ is structural with uniformly upright foliage and plumes. Strong landscape performance and display value earned it the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit and the Perennial Plant Association Perennial Plant of the Year Award. An attractive sport of ‘Karl’ is ‘Overdam,’ with silvery blush variegated foliage, gently arching, compact blades, and dusky pink flowers.

Little Bluestem

	botanical name Schizachyrium scoparium
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 3-4’
	hardiness zones 3-10

Another wide-ranging North American native, little bluestem features clumps of narrow, folded, usually upright blades. Blue-tinged new growth matures to reddish-gold.

Little bluestem produces fluffy white seeds that supply forage for birds. The fine leaves are prime nesting habitat. Widely adapted to different growing regions, the species occurs in lower Canada and most U.S. states except Washington and Nevada. It tolerates various soil types, though clay and sandy textures are its natural habitat.

‘Blue Heaven’ is a showy cultivar with good form and disease resistance. Slender blades begin blue and turn pink and burgundy as they age. Panicles appear in summer and are purple, with tan seedheads. Coppery fall color extends the seasonal interest. Look for ‘Ha Ha Tonka,’ too, part of the Piet Oudolf Collection and a favorite for its colorful blue-green leaves with silvery red highlights.

Prairie Dropseed

	botanical name Sporobolus heterolepis
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 2-3’
	hardiness zones 3-9

Prairie dropseed is native to central and eastern North American prairies and moves into the home landscape with gracefully arching foliage and pink-tan panicles. Mounding and fine-textured, the narrow leaves turn coppery amber in the fall. Birds visit for the seeds, which scatter and drop late in the season.

Low maintenance and hardy, prairie dropseed makes a fine pampas grass alternative, particularly in cooler climates. Deep roots make it well-suited to eroded and sloped sites. It’s heat and drought-tolerant but also withstands short flooding as long as the soils are well-draining.

‘Gone With The Wind’ is shorter than the species, with airy flowerheads and a wispy form that moves in the breeze. Green leaves turn vibrant red as the weather cools.

Muhly Grass

	botanical name Muhlenbergia capillaris
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 2-3’
	hardiness zones 5-9

Muhly sits quietly with deep green, wiry leaves until it bursts into an explosion of panicles in late summer and fall. The airy plumes create a pinky-red haze around fine-bladed leaves.

‘Pink Cloud’ is a classic favorite with pink sprays and smooth, dark blades. ‘White Cloud’ brings an open habit with a halo of dense white plumes. ‘Undaunted,’ a cultivar of ruby muhly (M. reverchonii) has deep rose plumes, densely tufted leaves, and improved cold hardiness.

Muhly tolerates heat, humidity, drought, and salt. It grows in poor soils, including sandy, clay, and rocky compositions.

Broomsedge

	botanical name Andropogon virginicus
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 2-4’
	hardiness zones 3-9

Broomsedge grows naturally across fields, prairies, and savannahs and suits informal plantings, revegetated areas, and open spaces. The long-lived, rugged ground cover supports common wood nymph and skipper larvae and is a good fit for pollinator gardens.

Broomsedge has green leaves and stems that turn dark purple and then red-gold by late fall. Inflorescences turn bright orange as temperatures drop, and persisting seeds are cottony, silvery white. Unlike other grasses, it retains its vibrant tones without fading to tan in cold weather.

Broomsedge thrives with a bit of neglect in sandy or clay soils. It withstands fluctuating moisture levels, but doesn’t do well in overly fertile or mulched situations.

Blue Grama

	botanical name Bouteloua gracilis
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 6-20”
	hardiness zones 4-9

Blue grama is a native prairie species and a pampas grass alternative for more arid climates like the American West. It performs well as a fine-bladed groundcover and also as a lawn alternative. It handles occasional mowing and reaches only six inches tall. Bloom spikes rise above the foliage for added height, and the green blades turn tawny red and curl in autumn.

Blue grama grass prefers well-drained soils with a neutral pH near 7.0. Drought-tolerant once established, it’s an ideal waterwise, low-maintenance perennial.

Virginia Wildrye

	botanical name Elymus virginicus
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 2-5’
	hardiness zones 3-8

While pampas grass grows in hot climates and thrives in the southeast, Virginia wildry is an alternative for cooler zones. The dominant tallgrass prairie species grows in spring and fall with bright green blades. Wheat-like inflorescences appear in summer and last into fall, when they make lovely fresh or dried additions to autumnal arrangements.