Looking to spruce up the landscape with a rich variety of foliage, continuous beauty and wildlife visitors? Ornamental grasses may be the low-maintenance option you’re looking for.

Valued for their unique appearance, elegant movement and easy upkeep, ornamental grasses are an eye-catching substitute for traditional landscape features like common shrubs and turfgrass. They come in myriad colors, textures and sizes; are available as true grasses and sedges; and can have clumping or spreading characteristics.

Ornamental grasses also provide structural winter interest and a refuge for birds and wildlife. They are easy to grow, drought-tolerant and can help control erosion. Some can be more disease- and pest-resistant.

They can be used in a multitude of ways, including as specimen plants, soft perennial borders, unique bed backdrops, ground covers or flower-bed groupings, according to Alabama Cooperative Extension.

Preferring common growing conditions, most like well-drained soil and full sun. A few will tolerate shade to full shade, including Japanese forest grass and North Sea oat grass. Some sedges and rushes thrive in moist or wet soils.

Giant plumegrass is best planted in or near water and adds color throughout the seasons. It reaches up to 10 feet tall with plumes that emerge in red, turn silver and then a soft burgundy in the fall. Little bluestem grass is favored for its stiff, bluish-green stems that turn a reddish-bronze in the fall and stand upright throughout most of winter. Rosy sedge can give the appearance of turfgrass when planted in a mass, and provide fine-textured, evergreen foliage.

Selecting plant materials for the landscape begins with determining the plant’s future location, followed by selecting the right plant for the right place.

Warm-season ornamental grasses will do best when planted in spring. Ideal spacing depends on the plant’s mature size—keeping in mind its clumping or creeping growth characteristics. For example, grass that grows 5 feet tall should be planted 5 feet apart.

Proper establishment with daily watering for one to two weeks will ensure a deep and healthy root system to withstand dry periods. Once established, most ornamental grasses will grow when given at least 1 inch of water per week and require little fertilizer.

Horticulturalist Mark Viette offers suggestions for planting and caring for ornamental grasses on Virginia Farm Bureau’s Real Virginia television program.

Refer to your local Extension Master Gardener program for planting recommendations specific to your area. To find your local Extension Master Gardeners, reach out to your local Extension office or search the web or Facebook.