Another Perfect Plant: Stipa gigantea
Stipa gigantea provides a gentle, shimmering screen throughout summer and fall.
Stipa gigantea is an absolute stunner of a grass! What makes this plant stand out are its seed heads, which get up to 8 feet tall and produce airy tufts of glittering gold seed that persist through winter. These seed heads provide a space-defining screen while remaining light, soft, and visually permeable. On a warm summer evening these golden seed heads truly glow in the dusk and jostle lazily in the breeze. This Spanish-native looks stunning in meadow-style plantings and is a favorite of new-perennialist Piet Oudolf. Stipa gigantea is drought-tolerant once established and appreciates a late winter cutting or raking of dead leaves.
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