Its bright green foliage resembles delicate filaments that arise in elegant, vase-like clumps and spill outward like a soft fountain. And I mean down to ground level. The scientific name is Nassella tenuissima, although the former ( Stipa tenuissima ) is accepted as a synonym. Stipa tenuissima (Mexican Feather Grass) is an exceptionally lovely and graceful ornamental grass which exhibits silvery-green thread-like leaves in late spring, that sway gracefully in the slightest breeze, delicately softening any landscapes. This ornamental is considered a cool season grass because most of its … Image – Flickr / Plant Right. Mexican Feather Grass is loved for its graceful, delicate and fine texture – it grows out in a cascade like a beautiful fountain. Ah, right, then first job when it has finished for this year is to clear away all the old growth altogether. Scientific: Nassella tenuissima (formerly Stipa tenuissima) Common: Silky thread grass, Mexican feather grass, Mexican needle grass, pony tails Family: Poaceae Origin: Dispersed widely on rocky slopes, dry open woods and dry prairies from New Mexico and Texas south through central Mexico. The popular grasses Stipa gigantea and Stipa tennuisima, while having flowered much earlier in the year than late season grasses such as Miscanthus, look good throughout most of the autumn and into early winter - though they can begin to look a little tatty by the end of January, and sometimes before. No other grass exhibits quite the refinement of texture as this species. Architectural, Beds and borders, Low Maintenance, Prairie planting, City, Cottage/Informal. Mexican Feather Grass (Nassella or Stipa tenuissima) is a wildly popular ornamental grass used by home gardeners and landscape design professionals. Just what everyone needs in the new year. It produces a mass of long, graceful, green foliage that grows in dense clumps. In summer, masses of elegant pale feathery seed-heads are held above the foliage. Cut the entire thing to 3”. It's definitely Stipa G - I have the original label! Suggested uses. Stipa tenuissima – Mexican Feather Grass Ornamental grass. The leaves do go browny, but the clump stays the same size. What are the characteristics of Stipa tenuissima ? Stipa tenuissima (Mexican feather grass) will reach a height of 1m and a spread of 0.5m after 2-5 years.. All summer, it bears abundant feathery panicles, which are held a little above the … Nassella tenuissima/ Stipa tenuissima or Mexican feather grass usually gets pruned once yearly in September when they go kind of beige and dreadlock-y, and they come back gorgeously and make a fresh green winter accent for me. Owdboggy . 4 Sep, 2008 . ... Prune it back in later winter or early spring. It is the accumulated old growth which is not helping your … These grasses form the genus Stipa and they’re the ones you can count on to sway in the gentlest breeze.Adding Stipa to the landscape guarantees movement, refinement, and even calm. Pronounciation: Nas-SEL-a ten-u-is-SI-ma … This is a herbaceous plant with a perennial cycle, that is, it lives for several years, originally from South America, found mainly in Mexico. These can be cut and dried when first opened for use in winter arrangements indoors. Nassella (Stipa) tenuissima - Mexican Feather Grass, Texas Needle Grass is native to the Soutwestern United States. Cultivation. Plus it is extremely … (Check out this article from The Germinatrix with her take on pruning this Stipa!) More than 200 grasses comprise the Stipa … Stipa tenuissima is a neat, compact, perennial grass, bearing closely packed, stiff, thread-like stems forming a strongly horizontal shape. Stipa Grass, Stipa: “Feather Dusters” Feather, needle, and spear. 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