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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. This very attractive grass is great for using in mass plantings or in tight locations were its fairly narrow and upright habit makes it the perfect fit.
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.
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 and was introduced by Yucca Do Nursery. 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 initial stock to propagate from. We grew this plant from 2012 until the final days of our nursery in 2025. 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.
The information displayed on this page about Muhlenbergia 'Pink Flamingo' is based on the research we have conducted about it in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about this plant as it grows in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant have performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we have received from others and welcome hearing from anyone with information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information that will aid others to better grow it.
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