Lindheimer Muhly Grass

Description

Botanical Name:  Muhlenbergia lindheimeri

Common Name:  Lindheimer’s Muhly, Lindheimer Muhly, Big Muhly, Blue Muhly

Description:  This is a 4-6′ tall x 2-3′ wide perennial bunchgrass with fine foliage and a fountain-like form. Silvery-white panicles (flowers) bloom in the fall. Semi-evergreen in the warmer areas, goes completely dormant in colder areas.. The foliage persists through the winter, though most of it will be dormant. Not necessary to cut back during the cold months. To keep tidy looking, break off old flower stalks when they become brittle and “comb” the plant with a leaf rake to remove dead leaves. Plant in sun to part sun areas of your garden. Fair to good forage for livestock and wildlife. Leaves provide nesting material for birds. Deer resistant. Drought tolerant. Can grow in many different types of soil.

Native from the Edwards Plateau of central Texas south to northern Mexico, Lindheimer’s muhly has become increasingly popular since the 1980s as an elegant, large-scale specimen grass, large enough for screening. It can be a soft-textured substitute for the non-native Pampas grass, which it approaches in stature. Its blue-green leaves and lacy autumn panicles grace live oak savannahs and limestone outcrops within its natural range.

Moderately tolerant of salt spray and wind. Moderately tolerant of infrequent salt/brackish water indunation.

This plant in 3-gallon containers is 2-3′ tall.

Plant Lore:  The genus of this plant is named for Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg (1753-1815), also Heinrich Ludwig Muehlenberg, or Henry Muhlenberg, who was a German-educated Lutheran minister and the first president of Franklin College, now Franklin and Marshall College, Pennsylvania. The species is named after Ferdinand Jacob Lindheimer (1801-1879) who is often called the Father of Texas Botany because of his work as the first permanent-resident plant collector in Texas.

Florida Hardiness Zones 8 – 10