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Muhlenbergia lindheimeri (Lindheimer's Muhly) - A stunning large clump-forming grass that is winter dormant in cold climates, but usually only semi-dormant in the mild climates of coastal California. From the fall into winter emerge the 5- to 6-foot-tall upright flower inflorescences, rising well above the 4-foot-tall clumps of blue-gray foliage. The flowers are at first purple then mature to a gray color.
Best planted in full sun with occasional irrigation but will tolerate drought and light shade and it also tolerant of many different types of soil and has been reported to grow well in saline soils and where it receives ocean spray. It is attractive if left unmanaged but can also be cut back to 1 foot tall or raked hard in spring to remove old leaves and flowers. This is one of our favorite grasses and can be seen planted throughout our gardens. Though a little smaller in scale, it is a great replacement for the invasive species of pampas grass (Cortaderia). Expect a few seedlings to emerge in irrigated locations in the garden but certainly not what we consider a weedy plant.
Muhlenbergia lindheimeri is native to the Edwards Plateau region of central Texas. 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 specific epithet was named to honor Ferdinand Jakob Lindheimer (1801-1879), a German-born explorer who spent his working life on the American frontier and settled in the New Braunfels area (near San Antonio) in the mid-1850s. Lindheimer is often referred to as the Father of Texas Botany. Other common names for this grass include Big Muhly Grass and Blue Muhly Grass.
We have grown this beautiful grass continuously since 1993 and have several very nice specimen plants in our nursery garden. We first received this plant from the Grassman and Meadowmaster John Greenlee in 1992.
Information displayed on this page about Muhlenbergia lindheimeri is based on our research conducted about this plant in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about it as it has grown in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
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