Little Zebra Dwarf Zebra Grass

Light Needs

Partial Sun to Full Sun

(At Least 5 Hours of Direct Sunlight)

Mature Height

3-4 Feet

Mature Spread

2-3 Feet

Growing Zones

5 to 9

Enjoy this striped dwarf perennial grass in your full sun garden and create a spectacular small hedge or landscape border, or highlight it as a specimen plant in your smaller landscape. Smaller than traditional M. sinensis which can reach great heights and widths, Little Zebra will bring the pizzaz and movement without all that upkeep. Bright green leaves have creamy yellow interruptions along the arching grass stems, and then you get flowers! Silvery white plumes of flower heads reach for the sky and sway in the wind, creating movement and texture in your landscape. It resists deer browsing and birds love the seed heads. Coastal gardeners will appreciate its salt tolerance as will Northern gardeners who live near salted winter roads.

Miscanthus sinensis is native to China and Japan, and grows in Zones 5 to 9 as a perennial ornamental grass. Little Zebra Dwarf Zebra Grass brings you all the great features of its parent grass and brings a smaller size that allows for easier care and maintenance. Growing in open fields and preferring a full sun location, Little Zebra can be grown in partial shade in hotter summer regions of its hardiness zone. It can tolerate average to poor soil, and does not have to be planted in well draining soil. It makes an excellent erosion control for a wet area where most plants fail to thrive. Zebra grass readily spreads via rhizomes and reseeds readily, becoming invasive in some regions of the country. Consult with your county extension agent if you are concerned about it for your location.

Little Zebra Dwarf Zebra Grass Care

Plant in full sun in cool summer zones, and give Little Zebra some afternoon shade in the hottest summer months in the Deep South. Growing equally well in poor soil or in the average garden soil, it can grow in wet areas that other plants cannot grow in. Tolerating acidic to neutral soil pH of 5.8 to 6.2, as long as it finds the moisture it needs, it will thrive. Fertilization is typically not needed, but you can amend particularly poor soil with some well composted organic matter worked into the top layer to give this tough plant all it needs to survive. Water often, especially in extended dry periods or if you are planting this in a patio container. Providing some root zone cover with a good quality mulch will help to protect it from winter frost heaving and provide some moisture retention.

Deadheading is not necessary for Little Zebra Dwarf as it produces so many flowering stems and the spent heads are an attraction to songbirds who love the seeds. Prune your grass in late fall or winter down to the ground or leave just a few inches above ground to prepare the way for the new spring growth. Zebra grass has few insect or disease problems and is generally a healthy plant.

Little Zebra Dwarf Zebra Grass Spacing

Space plants about 24 to 36 inches apart to allow room to grow and to get that lovely movement when the wind blows. Growing to 48 inches tall and spreading out to 36 inches wide, this grass makes a great landscape border or privacy hedge when massed out in a line. Plant grasses a little closer to each other for a privacy hedge to fill in the spaces. Whether you grow this as a specimen plant or as a hedge row or landscape border, you are going to appreciate the color, form and texture that Little Zebra Dwarf Zebra grass will lend to your garden and home this spring.