Botanic Garden >> Gardening > >> Houseplants >> Plants for Details >> Grasses and Bamboo

Purple Love Grass (Eragrostis spectabilis): Cloud of Purple Haze in Late Summer

Overview

Purple Love Grass is a warm-season, clump-forming perennial native to eastern North America. In late summer, it produces a breathtaking cloud of tiny, purplish-pink flowers that hover above the low, green foliage like a purple haze. The inflorescence eventually breaks off and tumbles in the wind, dispersing seeds.

Taxonomy & Nomenclature

Family:	Poaceae (poh-AY-see-ee)
Genus:	Eragrostis (er-uh-GROS-tis)
Species:	spectabilis (speck-TAB-ih-liss)

Cultivation & Uses

Full sun, dry to average, well-drained soil. Extremely drought-tolerant. Ideal for rock gardens, dry meadows, slopes, and naturalistic plantings. The airy flower clouds are stunning when backlit by sun. Low maintenance; cut back in late winter. Self-sows gently.

Grasses and Bamboo: Palm Grass (Setaria palmifolia); Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans); Centipede Grass (Eremochloa ophiuroides): A Low-Maintenance, Acid-Loving Lawn Grass; Egyptian Grass (Dactyloctenium aegyptium): A Spreading Annual Grass with Crowfoot Seed Heads; Purple Fountain Grass 'Cupreum' (Pennisetum setaceum): A Colorful, Arching Grass with Copper-Red Plumes; Bear Grass (Xerophyllum tenax): Iconic Western Native for Fire-Adapted Landscapes; Grass Tree (Xanthorrhoea nana): Dwarf Australian Grasstree; Purple Moor Grass (Molinia caerulea): A Native European Grass with Airy Purple Panicles; Feather Grass (Stipa pennata): A European Steppe Grass with Silky, Flowing Awns; Mazus reptans 'Purple': Mazus – Tiny Purple Flowers on a Bright Green Carpet

Garden Articles

Blue Oat Grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens)

Silver Banner Grass (Miscanthus sacchariflorus)

Fountain Grass 'Hameln' (Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hameln')

Indian Grass 'Indian Steel' (Sorghastrum nutans): A Metallic-Blue Native Prairie Grass

Dallis Grass (Paspalum dilatatum): A Robust Pasture Grass with Sticky Seed Heads

Liriope minor: Monkey Grass – Dwarf Lily Turf for Edging

Gladiolus 'My Love': Elegant White Blooms for Summer Gardens

Plants

Ribbon Grass 'Picta' (Phalaris arundinacea): A Variegated, Spreading Grass for Wet Sites

Quaking Grass (Briza media): A Delicate Grass with Trembling Heart-Shaped Seed Heads

Australian Grass Tree (Xanthorrhoea preissii): Majestic Trunked Xanthorrhoea

Narrow-leaved Cotton Grass (Eriophorum angustifolium): White Fluffy Heads in Bogs

Bottlebrush Grass Tree (Xanthorrhoea macronema): Slender Australian Grasstree

Himalayan Fairy Grass (Miscanthus nepalensis): A Delicate, Late-Blooming Grass from the Himalayas

Prairie Cordgrass (Spartina pectinata): A Tall, Native Wetland Grass for Restoration