Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergeri capillaris) grows 3-4 feet with blemish-free green foliage all summer long. By early fall, its bright colored floral seed heads (inflorescenses) are showing up, which gives Muhly its decorative look. ‘Pink Muhly’ tends to grow floppy and struts pink-hued inflorescenses that shimmer in a breeze. ‘White Cloud’ is a white flowering form of muhly that stands more upright. (USDA Hardiness Zones 7 – 11).

Many switch grass (Panicum virgatum) develop great fall leaf color.  In summer, the leaf blades of some switch grass varieties develop showy red-stained tips. ‘Shenandoah’ blades turn rich black-burgundy; ‘Northwind’ – bright gold streaked fall foliage; ‘Cheyenne Sky’ – dense, blue-green blades turn wine red in early summer and purple inflorescence appear in late summer (zones 5-9).

Big bluestem (Andropogon ternarius) varies across its natural range, growing as high as 5 feet tall in some areas. NC selection ‘Black Mountain’ stays 3 feet or under, and grows more compact than the species. Flowering stems emerge bluish-green and develop reddish hues later in summer. The inflorescences are composed of spikelets covered in silvery, white hairs.(zones 6-9)

Fountain grasses (Pennisetum spp.) represents a huge selection of both annual (P. setaceum) or perennial (P. alopecuroides) fountain grasses. Among the perennial varieties are: 1. ‘Rubrum’ holds its red color all season; 2. ‘Moudry’ has spring-summer green foliage that turns golden yellow foliage and burgundy red foxtail plumes in fall; 3. ‘Fireworks’ (annual) is highly colorful through most of the season.

Feather Reed Grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora) is a cool season plant that is one of the first ornamental grasses to shoot up in spring. It also is one of the first to go to seed. ‘Stricta’ and ‘Karl Foerster’ have reddish seed pods and ‘Overdam’ turns golden. (USDA Hardiness Zones 4 – 9)

Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis) has thin, airy leaves that create a weeping habit. In cool fall weather and ample soil moisture, the leaf blades turn almost pumpkin orange (Zones 3 – 9).