Stipa tenuissima 'Pony Tails'

Stipa tenuissima ‘Pony Tails’ (Mexican feather grass) is a graceful, fine-textured, semi-evergreen perennial forming dense, airy tussocks of slender green leaves, topped in summer by soft, feathery flower panicles that billow and move in the lightest breeze. Thriving in full sun and very well-drained, light to moderately fertile soils, it excels in gravel gardens, sunny borders and naturalistic plantings, bringing luminous, blonde tones as the seed heads mature. In Irish gardens it is hardy and easy to grow; simply comb out or lightly trim weathered foliage in late winter to early spring. Drought tolerant once established, it partners beautifully with perennials in informal cottage-style schemes as well as contemporary, architectural designs; remove spent flower stems if you wish to limit self-seeding.

To help give a clear sense of scale, the stone wall shown in our photos measures approximately 265cm in height. We also use familiar garden tools as visual references: a digging fork (110cm tall) and a hand fork (30cm tall). These are included purely as size guides to help you better judge proportions when viewing the images.

Position: Full sun

Rate of Growth: Moderate

Soil: Well-drained, light to moderately fertile; ideal in sandy or gravelly soils; avoid heavy, poorly drained ground

Hardiness: Hardy perennial in Ireland; avoid winter wet

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Plant at a Glance