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Grass · Poaceae Draft — unreviewed

Deer grass

Muhlenbergia rigens (Benth.) Hitchc.

Also called deer grass.

Large, fine-textured native bunchgrass with upright flower spikes. The go-to replacement for invasive fountain grass in desert landscapes.

Size over time

Typical landscape size 0.9–1.5 m (3–5 ft) tall and 0.9–1.5 m (3–5 ft) wide; medium growth, about 3 years to maturity. Intermediate sizes use the planner’s growth curve (k = 0.25) from the #1 install size.

00.511.52mPlanting0.3 × 0.3 mYear 30.8 × 0.8 mYear 101.1 × 1.1 mMature1.2 × 1.2 m

Design notes

  • Cut back to 15–20 cm every few years in late winter to renew.
  • Good in swales and basins that receive runoff.

Regions

Native range: California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Mexico.

Native to these OpenLandscape3D pilot regions:

Southwest

Native status describes where the species occurs naturally. It is not a promise that it suits a particular garden; site conditions decide that.

Related plants

Pink muhly grass
Muhlenbergia capillaris · Grass · 0.6–0.9 m (2–3 ft)
Blue grama
Bouteloua gracilis · Grass · 0.3–0.6 m (1–2 ft)
Mexican feather grass
Nassella tenuissima · Grass · 0.3–0.6 m (1–2 ft)
Shenandoah switchgrass
Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah' · Grass · 0.9–1.2 m (3–4 ft)
Little bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium · Grass · 0.6–1.2 m (2–4 ft)
Big sacaton
Sporobolus wrightii · Grass · 1.5–2.1 m (5–7 ft)

Plan with Deer grass

Place it in a design, check it against your zone, light and moisture, and see it at year three and year ten.

Start designing Try a sample garden