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Muhlenbergia 'Pink Flamingo' (Pink Flamingo Muhly) - An upright warm-season grass that has foliage to 3 to 4 feet tall by 2 to 3 feet wide with narrow gray-green leaves. In late summer into mid fall appear airy pink flower spikes, arching above the foliage by about one and a half feet.
Plant in full sun and irrigate occasionally to infrequently. Hardy to at least -10 °and useful in USDA Zones 6-10 - some report good in zone 5 (-20 °F) as well. This is a tough heat-loving grass that has performed well in the dry southwest US and in Texas. It is both drought tolerant and resistant to deer predation. Great for use in mass plantings or in tight locations were its narrow and upright habit makes it the perfect fit.
Muhlenbergia 'Pink Flamingo' is a naturally occurring spontaneous seedling hybrid that was discovered at Peckerwood Garden (now known as The John Fairy Garden) near Hempstead Texas. It is reasonable to assume that it is a hybrid between Muhlenbergia capillaris or Muhlenbergia sericea and Muhlenbergia lindheimeri. The plant and flowers are much taller and upright like Muhlenbergia lindheimeri but plumier and pinker like Muhlenbergia capillaris.
We thank the Grassman John Greenlee for turning us on to this wonderful grass and Hoffman Nursery in North Carolina for supplying us with our stock. The German naturalist Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber (1739-1810) named the genus for Gotthilf Heinrich (Henry) Ernst Muhlenberg (1753-1815) who was American born but returned to his ancestral Germany for schooling and later returned to America. He was an ordained Lutheran minister but devoted his free time to the study of the botany. The pictures on this page courtesy of Carol Reese, Ornamental Horticulture Specialist at the University of Tennessee Extension Service. The second image taken in late October in a garden in Santa Barbara.
This information about Muhlenbergia 'Pink Flamingo' displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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