Muhly Grass ‘White Cloud’

Description

Botanical Name:    Muhlenbergia capillaris ‘White Cloud’

Common Name:    ‘White Cloud’ Muhly Grass

Description:    ‘White Cloud’ is a naturally occurring variation of the well-known pink muhly grass. It produces beautiful, moonlight white, billowing seed heads, and fine-textured, blue-green foliage. It has a more upright shape, grows a bit taller, and blooms shortly after pink muhly grass. Quickly grows to 3-5 feet tall and wide with the plumes adding another foot or two. Blooms in fall. Its slender leaves/stems and the flower plumes turn brown in the winter, which to me is a pretty architectural statement on its own.

The faded seed heads feed the birds in the winter, so please leave them be. To keep them looking tidy, you can simply do some cleaning out of the old growth when the new growths shows back up in the spring. Or, in early February you can prune the whole plant back to about 1 foot from the ground. However, they do not have to be cleaned out or pruned for them to continue growing beautifully. Nobody is out there pruning them in their native habitats and they still manage to look gorgeous. They can be divided every four or five years when the clumps gets large.

Muhly grass attracts ladybugs, which puts it in the category for your Integrated Pest Management plants. It forms a low canopy that small animals can use for shelter and refuge. Is deer resistant. Needs well drained soil. Likes a sun to part sun area. Is drought tolerant after becoming established, but looks better with supplemental water during extended drought times. Perennial ornamental grass. Can be grown in large containers or in garden beds as a specimen or in mass plantings. Great for erosion control on slopes. Would be beautiful in your Moon Garden and/or Rain Garden.

Is deer resistant. Ladybugs are attracted to Muhly Grass, which means this plant is good for your Integrated Pest Management system.

‘White Cloud’ does not always produce white plumes when grown from seed. You’ll need to wait till the seedlings bloom to see if they bloom pink or white. You can divide the large clumps to get more true white forms.

Plumes/seed heads can be used for flower arrangements either dried or fresh.

Tolerant of occasional/brief inundation such as can occur in storm surges. Moderate tolerance of salty wind and may get some salt spray.

This plant in 1-gallon containers is 1-2′ tall.

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

Plant Lore:  Genus name honors Gotthilf Henry Ernest Muhlenberg (1753-1815), distinguished amateur botanist from Pennsylvania. Specific epithet means fine or hair-like. ‘White Cloud’ was discovered by my favorite nature wholesale supplier growing in their pink muhly grass field. They are responsible for introducing it to the green industry.

Florida Hardiness Zones 8 – 10