Muhlenbergia Undaunted®

Muhlenbergia Undaunted®: Ruby Plumes, Tough as Nails

This ruby muhly spends summer as a soft green mound, then erupts in airy crimson clouds like the whole garden is blushing. Alkaline clay, drought, deer? IT IS NOT IMPRESSED BY YOUR PROBLEMS.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Muhlenbergia reverchonii 'PUND01S'
• Common Name: Ruby Muhly, Seep Muhly
• Series: Undaunted®, a Plant Select® introduction, also sold by Proven Winners®
• Height: 40–45 cm (15–18 in) in leaf, up to 75 cm (30 in) in flower
• Spread: 45–60 cm (18–24 in)
• Flowers: Airy clouds of reddish-pink to crimson plumes that dry to tan and hold through winter
• Bloom Time: Late summer to fall (September to October)
• Foliage: Fine-textured, soft green, in a dense, arching mound
• Features: Tolerates alkaline clay, long-lived, winter interest

Where to Plant: Use it in drifts at the front of a sunny border, along a walk, in a gravel or rock garden, or as a soft edge for a hot, dry slope. It's shorter and tidier than many grasses, so it fits small gardens, and it tolerates alkaline clay.

Companion Plants: Salvia Perpetual Purple™ keeps purple spikes coming at 40 to 45 cm from June to September, leading into the grass's ruby fall plumes. Behind, Helenium autumnale grows 90 to 150 cm with yellow flowers from July to October. Dianthus Glamour Time™ edges the bed with pink flowers at 15 to 20 cm from June to September. All three want full sun.

Plant Care: Plant it in full sun. It grows in most soils, from sandy to alkaline clay, as long as water doesn't pool around it all winter. Water through the first season. After that, it needs very little. Skip the fertilizer. Leave the plumes and foliage standing over winter. Cut the clump back to a few centimetres in early to mid spring, before new growth starts. It forms a tight clump that stays dense for years with little or no centre dieback.

History: Undaunted® was selected in 2003 by plantspeople Lauren Springer and Scott Ogden from a wild population of Muhlenbergia reverchonii in north-central Texas, and introduced through Plant Select®, the Colorado program that trials plants for tough western and northern gardens. Compared with pink muhly, it is more compact, more drought tolerant and more cold hardy.

Final Thoughts: Long-lived and low maintenance, with plumes that hold through winter. Plant a few where the evening sun hits. INSTANT ROMANCE.