Golden waves of grassy grain, the illuminated version of a hardy native, the Golden Sunset™ Yellow Prairie Grass (Sorghastrum nutans ‘MNYG318153’) is just what your late summer and fall garden scene needs to add some glow among the green! These native selections are related to the hardy tall grass prairies, so you know they’re easy-going, xeric and fast to grow!
Developed by the University of Minnesota, these fantastic perennial grasses are faster-growing privacy and screening that’s easy on the eyes. Surround Zen and Meditation gardens with rustling sounds and noise cancellation, plus soothing motion in the slightest breeze. Form a soft barrier around seating areas or for property definition. Use as ‘living walls’ for outdoor garden rooms and add tranquil seclusion and solitude!
Featuring bolt upright growth and spring and summer olive-green blades, this unique ornamental grass transforms once the temperature cools off with a deep antique gold hue! The flower plumes emerge by summer and grow in profusion! Adding fluffy texture and that golden bronzy color to your landscape! Ornamental grasses also bring motion and sound to your landscape all year round!
Golden Sunset™ is a tough native selection of Indian Grass (Sorghastrum) and tolerates an extreme range of growing conditions! Hardy throughout almost the entirety of the USDA growing zones 3 through 9! Not much fazes this 4-6 foot tall columnar type of grass! Featuring strong, no-flop stems, the blades and plumes turn tan and stand erect through snow, remaining persistent through most of the winter.
Planting and Application:
Yellow Prairie Grasses look fantastic as backdrops and in rows at the back of the border and garden. Use these golden accents throughout the garden in inject fresh and unexpected color and upright architectural form to the more spreading, mounding and round shapes other plants in your landscape typically have!
A formal row of soldiers in their gilded uniforms will look fantastic standing in evenly spaced intervals along a pathway or the narrow section of your driveway! Or just a pair on guard astride the entrance to your driveway, or swaying on either side of your front steps. You will certainly add an impressive exclamation point to your home’s curb appeal!
Add one or more of these ornamental grasses anywhere for four-season interest without sacrificing space! The golden plums certainly are a must-have for cut flower gardens and Rock Gardens! Snip a few of these colorful blades or flower heads for crafts, bouquets, dried arrangements or outdoor planter fall décor!
Don’t forget the wildlife aspect of perennial Indian grasses! Groupings in 3s and 5s not only look high-style but also shelter and feed birds and small wildlife! These were once part of dominant tall grass prairies and still look the part when mixed among Coneflowers and Big or Little Bluestems! Create naturalized banks and en masse swaths for erosion control and in drought-prone regions and for creating contemporary prairie plantings.
- Tall Upright Golden Olive Green Blades
- Golden Plume-Like Seedheads
- Hardy, Adaptable & Easy to Grow Native Cultivar
- Warm-Season Grass – Strong, Sturdy Stems Won’t Flop
- Hedges, Screens, Motion, General Landscape Structure & Cut Flowers/Crafts
Tips for Care:
Sorghastrum thrives in the full sun and will not be as strong and upright in anything less than 6 hours of direct sunlight a day. Water regularly after planting and until established in its first year, after these are great xeric and drought tolerant plants that tough out both heat and cold! Prune stems back to near the ground in late winter/early spring and clean out the interior of the clump of any built-up debris that may choke out new spring growth.
- Strongest in Full Sun
- Tolerates Any Well-Drained Soil
- Xeric & Drought-Tolerant Once Established
- Wildlife Benefits & Fast Growing
- Prune Late Winter to Early Spring
Add the touch of gold! The Golden Sunset™ Yellow Prairie Grass illuminates modern and prairie landscapes alike with this upright form and unique bronzy hues!
