Dwarf Fakahatchee Grass

Dwarf Fakahatchee Grass, Tripsacum floridanum, is a compact evergreen clumping grass native to the pine rocklands and marl prairies of South Florida. Narrow arching blades form a tidy fountain, and green flower spikes rise above the leaves through much of the year. It holds its shape without shearing, so it works as an accent clump or a massed groundcover. Give it full sun to part sun and sandy or lime rock soil on the neutral to alkaline side; it is hardy in USDA zones 8 through 10, well north of its narrow native range. Clumps reach 2 to 3 feet tall and wide, about half the size of Fakahatchee grass, Tripsacum dactyloides, with flower stalks to 4 feet. It takes moist ground and long dry spells, but has little tolerance for salt spray or saltwater flooding. Foliage browns after a hard freeze; cut it back in late winter.