Clumping grasses hold the spread listed here and stay put. Running grasses spread by rhizome and will keep going past it, so for those the figure describes how quickly a drift closes rather than how big the planting ends up. Check which kind you have before planting a long row of it.
Plant library · Spacing charts
Ornamental grass spacing chart
Center-to-center spacing for 25 ornamental grasses, with mature height and spread, hardiness zones, and sun needs — spacing for drifts and mass plantings as well as single specimens.
Spacing across this chart runs from 12 inches (30 cm) to 6 ft (1.8 m). Click any column heading to sort.
| Plant | Spacing | Mature size | USDA zones | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Big BluestemAndropogon gerardii
|
3 ft90 cm | 6 ft tall, 2.5 ft wide | 3–9 | Full Sun |
Blue FescueFestuca glauca
|
12 inches30 cm | 1 ft tall, 1 ft wide | 4–8 | Full Sun |
Blue Grama GrassBouteloua gracilis
|
12 inches30 cm | 1.5 ft tall, 1 ft wide | 3–9 | Full Sun |
Blue Lyme GrassLeymus arenarius
|
2.5 ft75 cm | 3 ft tall, 3 ft wide | 4–10 | Full Sun |
Blue Oat GrassHelictotrichon sempervirens
|
2.5 ft75 cm | 2.5 ft tall, 2.5 ft wide | 4–8 | Full Sun |
Feather Reed GrassCalamagrostis x acutiflora
|
2.5 ft75 cm | 5 ft tall, 2 ft wide | 4–9 | Full Sun |
Fountain GrassPennisetum alopecuroides
|
3 ft90 cm | 3 ft tall, 3 ft wide | 5–9 | Full Sun |
Indian GrassSorghastrum nutans
|
2.5 ft75 cm | 5 ft tall, 2 ft wide | 4–9 | Full Sun |
Japanese Blood GrassImperata cylindrica
|
18 inches45 cm | 1.5 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | 5–9 | Full Sun |
Japanese Forest GrassHakonechloa macra
|
2 ft60 cm | 1.5 ft tall, 2 ft wide | 5–9 | Partial Shade |
Japanese SedgeCarex oshimensis
|
18 inches45 cm | 1 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | 5–9 | Partial Shade |
Little BluestemSchizachyrium scoparium
|
2 ft60 cm | 3 ft tall, 2 ft wide | 3–9 | Full Sun |
Maiden GrassMiscanthus sinensis
|
4 ft1.2 m | 6 ft tall, 4 ft wide | 5–9 | Full Sun |
Mexican Feather GrassNassella tenuissima
|
18 inches45 cm | 2 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | 6–10 | Full Sun |
Northern Sea OatsChasmanthium latifolium
|
2.5 ft75 cm | 3 ft tall, 2.5 ft wide | 3–8 | Partial Shade |
Pampas GrassCortaderia selloana
|
6 ft1.8 m | 10 ft tall, 6 ft wide | 7–11 | Full Sun |
Pennsylvania SedgeCarex pensylvanica
|
12 inches30 cm | 0.75 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | 3–8 | Partial Shade |
Pink Muhly GrassMuhlenbergia capillaris
|
3 ft90 cm | 3 ft tall, 3 ft wide | 6–9 | Full Sun |
Prairie DropseedSporobolus heterolepis
|
2.5 ft75 cm | 2.5 ft tall, 2.5 ft wide | 3–9 | Full Sun |
Purple Fountain GrassPennisetum setaceum
|
2.5 ft75 cm | 3.5 ft tall, 2.5 ft wide | 8–11 | Full Sun |
Purple Moor GrassMolinia caerulea
|
2 ft60 cm | 3.5 ft tall, 2 ft wide | 4–8 | Full Sun |
Ravenna GrassSaccharum ravennae
|
5 ft1.5 m | 10 ft tall, 5 ft wide | 5–9 | Full Sun |
Sweet FlagAcorus gramineus
|
12 inches30 cm | 1 ft tall, 1 ft wide | 5–9 | Partial Sun |
SwitchgrassPanicum virgatum
|
3 ft90 cm | 5 ft tall, 3 ft wide | 4–9 | Full Sun |
Tufted Hair GrassDeschampsia cespitosa
|
2 ft60 cm | 3 ft tall, 2 ft wide | 4–9 | Partial Shade |
Spacing is center to center — measure between planting holes, not between the edges of the plants. Mature size and hardiness ranges are catalog values and shift with cultivar and local conditions.
How to use this chart
Grasses are one of the few categories where mass planting at the listed spacing is usually the intent, not a compromise. A drift reads as a single moving mass when the clumps just touch at maturity, which is what these distances produce.
Leave the standing clumps through winter and cut back in late winter or early spring. That means spacing has to account for the full dormant silhouette sitting there for months — grasses planted tight enough to look good in August can block a path entirely by November.