Grasses and Strappy Leaf Plants

Strappy structure or true grass movement

Grasses and strappy leaf plants get sold side by side, but the two halves behave differently, and the difference matters more than variety names. Strappy leaf plants such as lomandra, dianella, liriope and agapanthus are evergreen perennials: they hold their shape all year, live for decades and ask for almost nothing. True ornamental grasses such as fountain grass, Japanese blood grass and common tussock grass give you seed heads, seasonal colour and constant movement, but most want one hard cutback a year and can look scruffy through winter. Permanent structure or seasonal drama, and most good plantings use both.

Then buy by finished height. Mondo grass and blue fescue sit around 25cm, Japanese blood grass at 45cm, Lomandra 'Tanika' makes a fine weeping mound at 60cm, blueberry lily and agapanthus hold 80cm, and Slender Mat Rush (Lomandra hystrix) and Common Tussock Grass (Poa labillardierei) reach a full metre. Purple fountain grass tops the range at 1.2m in flower. For massed colour, dwarf kangaroo paws like 'Bush Bonanza' flower at just 60cm.

Where grasses and strappy leaf plants earn their keep

These are problem solvers first and ornaments second. Lomandras and dianellas grip slopes and retaining wall plantings where mulch washes away. Lomandra hystrix and knobby club rush (Ficinia nodosa) tolerate wet feet, which makes them the standard picks for drainage swales and rain gardens, and hystrix is equally happy poolside. Mondo grass edges paths in sun or shade. By climate: the humid north suits hystrix, dianella, liriope and mondo, while blue fescue dislikes humid summers and does its best work in the south alongside poa and the lomandras, nearly all of which are fully frost hardy. Purple fountain grass burns back in cold winters and reshoots in spring. In dry inland gardens, established lomandras and dianellas get through most years on rainfall alone, which is why councils plant them by the thousand. More than half this collection sits within our Australian native plants range.

Spacing for a planting that closes over

Mass planting lives or dies on spacing, and tighter is not better: crowded clumps thin out and stay permanently hungry.

• 20cm apart. Mondo and black mondo grass for solid borders and carpets.
• 30cm to 40cm apart. Blue fescue, Japanese blood grass, agapanthus and dwarf kangaroo paws.
• 50cm to 60cm apart. Blueberry lily, knobby club rush, Lomandra 'Tanika', long leaf lomandra, common tussock grass and both fountain grasses.
• 70cm apart. Lomandra hystrix for full sized mass plantings.

At 50cm centres you need 4 plants per square metre; at 60cm, closer to 3. Water deeply twice a week through the first summer, mulch between clumps, and after that most of this page looks after itself. For groundcovers and shrubs that repeat just as well, browse the wider mass planting range.

Care: one cutback and not much else

Feed natives with a low phosphorus native fertiliser in spring and exotics with a standard controlled release feed. The one job that matters is the annual cut: take true grasses such as fountain grass, blood grass and poa down to 10cm to 15cm in late winter just before new growth. Strappy plants skip that entirely; halve a lomandra every three or four years if it gets leggy, and lift and divide agapanthus clumps in autumn when the centres go hollow. One honest warning: common fountain grass self seeds and is a declared weed in parts of Western Australia and South Australia, so choose the sterile purple form or a lomandra in those areas.

Common questions

What grows in dry shade under established trees?

Mondo grass, liriope and dianellas handle root filled dry shade better than almost anything else in the nursery. Plant slightly closer than standard spacing and water well through the first summer, and they will hold ground where lawn has already failed.

Do I have to cut everything back every year?

Only the true grasses, which rebuild from the base after one hard late winter cut. Lomandras, dianellas and liriope can run three to five years between tidies, which is why strappy natives dominate low maintenance commercial plantings.

Are these plants safe near pools and paving?

Yes. Their fibrous roots will not lift paving, and Lomandra hystrix is specifically suited to poolside planting. Keep seed dropping grasses a few metres back from the waterline to spare the filter.

Which ones are pet friendly?

Lomandra 'Tanika', long leaf lomandra, Lomandra hystrix, common tussock grass, blue fescue and black mondo all carry our Pet Friendly flag. Blueberry lily misses out because its berries can upset pets, and agapanthus sap is toxic to cats and dogs, so site those away from chewers.

How does delivery work for a mass planting order?

Everything here is delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery, which most mass planting orders clear easily. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.