How To Properly Grow and Nurture Mexican Feather Grass

Are you looking for the finest textured feather grass for your landscape? Mexican Grass, formerly Stippa or Nassella, is glossy, smooth-textured grass with green and yellow foliage. It usually grows in Summer, and because of that, it is tolerant of heat. Even in the harshest winters, this grass will reseed itself to naturalize in meadows or on slopes for erosion control.

This native grass can easily tolerate drought situations. The breeze sends away these delicate white flowers and their fine leaves into waves. People often use this as an ornament in their gardens as it radiates a golden shiny beauty on sunny afternoons.

Evergreen grasses are usually plants that look like grasses but aren’t called grasses; they are generally called grass-like plants.

Brief History of Mexican Feather Grass

Mexican Feather Grass is a domestic grass in North America, partly in New Mexico and other parts of old Mexico. This was originally found in West Texas as well. It is suitable for dry landscapes. This tough plant adds graceful movement and an enduring finish to your potted gardens. This embellished grass does exceptionally well in the driest and warmest regions in the country.

They have a delicate and softest beauty which stems 18 inches to 24 inches tall, and that is where their beauty is enhanced even more when they wave gracefully with the wind and their swaying feathery flowers. Mexican Feather Grass thrives in the spring season.

This beautiful plant is perennial in the hardiness of the United State Department of Agriculture zones through 7 to 10. As a zone 7 plant, the lowest temperature it can withstand arise 0 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit. These dense, fountain-like clusters ofMexican Feather Grass have a cluttered appearance.

Additionally, this is the best contender for your beautifully designed Mexican ceramic flowering pots. It is adorable to see this grass, especially when the sun’s rays are on and the wind is blowing. It adds a silky texture to them.

How to Grow Mexican Feather Grass From Seed

Mexican Feather Grass, a late summer and fall hallmark, is a wonderful addition to late-season bouquets. To grow this, make sure your location is not shady and damp.

The place should get direct access to ample sunlight and warmth. Make sure initially, the water supply should remain efficient, and the soil should also be well moisturized. This Feather Grass doesn’t need to be pruned.

However, it is suggested to keep the landscape tidy, and for that, it is required to trim the wilted flowers and the excessively grown hairy stems at the end of the season but make sure not to snip away the budding green stems.

This will keep the grass nice, fresh and consistent and help the plant maintain its rounded shape. For Pruning, use clean and sharp garden shears to clear away the dried colourless debris to ensure it doesn’t regrow.

Although Mexican Feather Grass propagates without interruptions once grown into a free landscape, however, these are the two most effective techniques born manually. Firstly, by sowing seeds and secondly, through a method called divisions.

Effective division occurs in the spring before the emergence of new shoots in your grass. Dividing is a way to break a large cluster of plants. To cultivate Mexican Feather Grass, you will need a shovel or a trowel to help lift the plant.

Then use a sharp spade to divide the plant and compost. From an inch of an outer edge, dig another circle around the clump for 7-8 inches down. Use the shovel to search the whole cluster with its roots. Place that on its side and start cutting it into either two parts or three, depending on the size, using the spade.

Then in a new spot, make another hole bigger than the root clutter and fill the bottom with a very layer of compost. Keep the cluster of roots in that hole, ensuring the plant’s roots fully emerge in the soil. Match this with the ground line. Now cover the hole with the remaining. Now hydrate the plant well.

Mexican Feather Grass or Nassella tenuissima thrives very beautifully when sown from seed. In early spring, start growing your plant indoors by placing it on a thin layer of soil and then putting a thin layer of loamy soil sand. Water this plant regularly and plant outside when you see shoots coming out. Viola! You can grow Mexican Feather Grass with other plants without any hassle. The best companions of this plant are White Swan, Big Blue, Dense blazing star, and Sedum. You will need a big container for it to accommodate mixed plants.

How to Take Care of Mexican Feather Grass

The plant is secured when it comes to any infection or insects. However, bugs and leaf spots can plague the plant. Mexican Feather Grass is an undemanding plant which spreads across without any hassle. It doesn’t cause nuisance or problems, resisting almost every disease and pest. Make sure to keep pulling your seed heads from your grass, as that may pull away the texture from your grass. You can simply run your fingers through it and pull that off from the grass in your direction. You may notice some very dry grass will be off in your hands. Either you can discard that, or you can use these seeds to grow another bunch of Mexican Feather Grass.

As the temperature eventually cools down, you can spot the browning of these plants will be noticeable on the tips, which means that the plant has started to die in preparation for going dormant. This can also happen during the spring or summer (which is the plant’s growing season). This is a sign that the temperatures are too hot, and the plant can’t take the scorching heat due to the lack of water.

Hence, it is recommended to keep watering your thirsty Mexican Feather Grass. The grass may start laying flat due to insufficient water after going in for dormancy in the cold season. Or another reason could be over fertilization which means over usage of nitrogen in the soil. In the agile and thriving season, it is suggested to rinse the grass adequately and ensure the soil is soaked up properly but do not make it soggy with over-irrigation.

Moreover, irrigate this plant at least once in the growing season; in springtime, it thrives best. If you see that the grasses are getting out of hand, displaying a huge display of dense clusters, which happens after three to four years, then start dividing the clump.

If growing conditions are right, Mexican feather grass can overgrow in an area and overtake your other plants. Once it’s established, the problem is challenging to control. Two ways to remove Mexican feather grass are physical and chemical removal. You can physically remove it by hand weeding or strategic grazing. Mowing has the opposite effect; it becomes a seed dispersal method versus reduction.

Landscape Requirements of Mexican Feather Grass

Mexican feather grass thrives best in full-blown sunlight because it can only be seen swaying in summer. However, the plant may survive in minimal sunlight. Planting Mexican feather grass in well-drained soil is necessary since it requires water to run through it. Your soil should be loose enough. For that, try using sand and composting matter which is organic.

Although, this grass can thrive in drought at ease once it is completely established because it goes into dormancy in winter. During the first growing season, water this grass weekly. Once fully grown, you’ll only need to water in the dry season. Regarding temperature and humidity, Mexican feather grass wouldn’t appreciate hot, fuming weather.

Although it doesn’t wither away completely, it may lose its fresh colour in the warmest and most humid temperatures. Mexican feather grass is winter tolerant and can take up to temperatures of about 0 degrees Fahrenheit. However, be cautious because a further decrease in temperature for a longer period might destroy the grass.

Spreading Mexican Grass Evenly on Grounds

Firstly, prepare the ground by watering it around the clusters. Then, using a spade, dig the entire clump out. Now you can weave through the collection and start tearing in parts with your hands or a cultivator.

Make sure the cluster of stems remains with the roots. Now divide the big clump into smaller bunches. Depending on the size, you can divide them into 5-1 parts. In those clumping target areas, start digging holes about 12 cm deep, approximately your hand’s length, and space them equally up to 25 cm.

Very slowly, place the bunches of Mexican Grass in a hole and fill the gaps with compost or soil you dug out. After that, it is extremely important to water the plant abundantly and then weekly in moderate amounts until it has properly settled in.

Summing It Up

All in all, these plants will look good and happily sway with the wind when surrounded by their best companions. Sedum is the one. From the moment this plant emerges from the soil in spring to the time it’s fully bloomed, this plant looks fresh and fabulous.

Now imagine this adding grace to the neighbouring Mexican Feather Grass. Even their water demands match each other. They both thrive in full sun and complete drainage. Talking about the second plant, Aster is considered the best companion of Mexican Feather Grass. Aster, as the name suggests, it is the superstar of the gardens. It has beautiful and rich lavender petals, which compliments any grass surrounding them.

Not to mention, Mexican Feather Grass has its own shiny and swaying texture, which is better equipped with beautiful flowers surrounding them.