Tufted Hairgrass

Year-round

A low-fuss grass that likes light shade and soil that stays moist.

• Plant it in light to moderate shade. It will grow in full sun but the foliage and flowers look worse.
• Give it humus-rich soil that stays moist. It tolerates wet soil.
• Maintenance is rated low.
• It self seeds, so expect some new seedlings nearby.

Fall

Little to do in fall besides watching for seedlings.

• It self seeds, so pull or move any seedlings you do not want.
• Leave the foliage in place for now. The care page puts the haircut in late winter.
• Keep the soil from drying out completely.

Winter

Winter is quiet, with one job at the very end.

• Cut old foliage to the ground in late winter before new growth starts.
• The plant is hardy in USDA zones 4a through 9b.

Spring

New growth starts early, so finish any trimming first.

• If you did not trim last year's foliage yet, cut it to the ground before new growth starts.
• Divide clumps in spring if you want more plants, since division is a recommended way to propagate it.
• Keep the soil moist and rich in organic matter.

Summer

Moist soil matters most when it is hot.

• Keep the soil moist. The plant prefers moist to soggy ground.
• Light shade is best. Full sun can reduce the quality of the foliage and flowers.
• It is salt tolerant, and some cultivars are drought tolerant.

Year-round

Tufted hairgrass is a cool-season clumping grass that wants steady moisture and does best with some afternoon shade at Durango's elevation.

• It grows naturally in wet meadows and moist high-elevation sites across Colorado's mountains, so a consistently damp spot in a Durango yard is a reasonable match for it.
• Give it morning sun and afternoon shade if you can. Full sun works too, but the leaf tips can look rough by midsummer without enough water.
• It is rated hardy from about USDA zone 4 through 9, so Durango's zone 6a to 6b winters sit well inside its comfort range.
• The main yearly job is cutting the old foliage down to the ground in late winter before new growth starts.
• Established clumps handle short dry spells better than you might expect, but this is still a moisture-loving grass, not a true low-water xeriscape plant.

It grows as a neat, non-spreading clump rather than running or reseeding aggressively, which tends to read as tidy and HOA-friendly once you keep up the late-winter cutback.

Fall

Fall brings Durango's first frost around late September, and it is one of the two good windows for dividing a clump before winter.

• The average first frost lands around September 21 to 30, so plan on tapering watering as nights cool through September.
• Fall is one of the two good windows for dividing an overgrown clump, and it is often the easier one since the new divisions get a full fall and winter to settle in before next summer's heat.
• Leave the seed heads standing once they turn tan. They add winter interest and give birds something to feed on through the cold months.
• Do not cut the foliage back now. Wait until late winter, since the standing growth helps buffer the crown through Durango's cold nights.

Winter

Winter is the low-maintenance season for this grass. It is cold hardy well below Durango's typical lows and mostly takes care of itself under snow.

• It is rated hardy to about USDA zone 4, with some nursery sources listing it as hardy to zone 2, so Durango's zone 6a to 6b cold is not a concern.
• Leave the tan winter foliage and seed heads standing. They hold up well through snow and look better left alone until late winter.
• There is nothing to water or feed this time of year. Save the cutback for late February or March, right before new growth starts.
• A heavy, wet snow load can flatten a clump temporarily, but it typically stands back up once the snow melts.

Spring

Spring is cutback and green-up season in Durango, with an average last frost that lands in mid-May.

• Cut back any foliage left standing from winter before new blades push up, ideally by late February to March at this elevation.
• Durango's average last frost falls around May 11 to 20, so a late cold snap can still nip fresh spring growth. That is normal and the clump comes back on its own.
• Start regular watering as soon as new growth shows. Spring here tends to run dry before the summer thunderstorm pattern kicks in.
• Early spring is an option for dividing an overcrowded clump, but plan on watering it through the first summer, since a spring split has less time to root in before hot, dry weather arrives.

Summer

Durango summers start hot and dry before monsoon storms arrive in July, so this grass needs the closest watering attention in June.

• June is usually the driest, hottest stretch before the summer monsoon pattern sets in, so this is when tufted hairgrass needs the most supplemental water to keep the soil from drying out.
• Afternoon shade helps a lot here. Plants in full sun with inconsistent water tend to brown and look ragged by midsummer.
• Once July and August monsoon storms start, you can usually ease off hand watering since natural rainfall picks up some of the load.
• This is not a good plant to treat as low-water landscaping in a Durango summer. If the bed dries out for more than a few days it will show stress fast.