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Where to buy well-behaved ornamental Australian grasses online

Where to buy well-behaved ornamental Australian grasses online

Many gardeners love the idea of ornamental grasses but hesitate to buy them online. The fear is familiar. Will it self-seed everywhere? Will it flop? Will it take over the garden?

The safest way to avoid disappointment is to choose well-behaved cultivated grasses. These are varieties selected for controlled growth, predictable size, and reliable garden performance.

What “well-behaved” really means

In practical terms, a well-behaved ornamental grass:

  • Grows as a clump rather than spreading aggressively
  • Holds its form without constant intervention (a hard prune before spring is all that’s required)
  • Looks intentional between maintenance cycles
  • Fits into residential gardens without dominating them

Grasses that consistently behave well

Varieties such as Eskdale Blue™, Kingsdale™, and Rustic™ poas are chosen for structure, reliability, and controlled growth. They suit gardeners who want native grasses without surprises.

Cenchrus varieties add more noticeable, ornamental flower heads while remaining compact and garden-friendly. They work well where you want movement and visual interest without the risk associated with wilder grasses. Common forms readily self-seed and can become invasive, but the varieties in this guide have shown a tendency not to be invasive during testing, even though they are not sterile.

Lomandra and Dianella are not true grasses, but they are strappy tufts that resemble true grasses and bring different benefits, with some overlap of functionality around habitat support, erosion control, and aesthetic value. While true grasses are fast to break down primarily through the help of beneficial soil-borne bacteria, lomandras and dianellas have tougher foliage that takes longer to break down primarily through the help of beneficial soil-borne fungus. Both true grasses and firmer strappies make great mulch when chopped and dropped, especially when used together to offer both fast-cycling and slow-cycling nutrients.

Poa

Poa spp. ‘POL12’ PBR Trade Name Eskdale Blue™

Eskdale Blue

Blue-leaved tussock grass forming soft mounded clumps; ideal for mass planting and low-maintenance gardens

Poa poiformis PP500 Trade Name Kingsdale™

Kingsdale

Compact Poa with bright soft flowers and fine foliage; ideal for mass/mixed planting and native gardens

Poa spp. ‘POL11’ PBR Trade Name Rustic™

Rustic

Fine-leaf native grass with rustic-brown seed heads; drought tolerant and well-suited to landscaping

Cenchrus

Cenchrus purpurascens ‘PA300’ Trade Name Nafray®

Nafray

Non‑invasive native grass with fine texture; drought/flood tolerant and showy plumes

Cenchrus purpurascens Trade Name Cream Lea®

Variegated Australian grass with green and cream striped leaves; compact and easy-care ornamental grass

  • The Plant Hub: 50 mm tube; $7.25. https://theplanthub.com.au/products/cream-lea

Cenchrus purpurascens ‘PAV300’ PBR Trade Name Pennstripe™

Pennstripe

Variegated dwarf fountain grass with stripy leaves; clump forming and non-invasive

Lomandra

Lomandra labill. ‘LM600’ PBR Trade Name Evergreen Baby™

Dense compact Lomandra with fine foliage; hardy and tolerant of drought and wet soil

  • Australian Plants Online: Tubestock; Out of stock. https://www.australianplantsonline.com.au/lomandra-evergreen-baby.html
  • The Plant Hub: 50 mm tube; $6.95. https://theplanthub.com.au/products/evergreen-baby

Lomandra ‘LM301’ PBR Trade Name Grass Tree 310™

Grass Tree

Quick-growing mat rush bred to resemble a young grass tree; tall narrow habit

Lomandra longifolia ‘MURU’ PBR Trade Name Great White™

Great White

Variegated Lomandra with green-and-cream striped leaves and larger flowers

Lomandra hystrix ‘LHBYF’ PBR Trade Name Katie Belles™

Katie Belles

Tall Lomandra longifolia with graceful weeping foliage and large fragrant flower spikes; ideal feature or mass planting

Lomandra longifolia ‘KATRINUS DELUXE’ PBR

Lomandra Katrinus Deluxe

Improved dense form of Katrinus with masses of yellow flowers and uniform habit

Lomandra longifolia ‘LM360’ PBR Trade Name Lady Tanika®

Lady Tanika

Dwarf form of Tanika; neat clumping green foliage; sterile and disease-resistant

Lomandra longifolia ‘LM400’ Trade Name Nyalla®

Nyalla

Trunkless grass-tree-like Lomandra; fast-growing and coastal tolerant; good for erosion control

Lomandra fluviatilis ‘LM380’ PBR Trade Name Shara Blue™

Shara Blue

Blue-green version of Shara; compact erosion-control habit; resilient in exposed or wet sites

Lomandra fluviatilis ‘ABU7’ PBR Trade Name Shara™

Compact Lomandra with very fine leaves; ideal for erosion control and humid or wet soils

Lomandra hystrix ‘LHWP’ PBR Trade Name Tropic Cascade™

Tropic Cascade

Mid-sized Lomandra hystrix with weeping deep-green foliage and fragrant yellow flowers; suits wet or dry soils

Lomandra confertifolia ‘SIR5’ PBR Trade Name Wingarra®

Low-growing Lomandra confertifolia with fine blue-green foliage; very tough

Dianella

Dianella caerulea ‘DCNC3’ PBR Trade Name Baby Breeze™

Baby Breeze

Dwarf form of Breeze® flax lily; mat-forming and weed-suppressing with blue flowers

Dianella caerulea DCNCO Trade Name Breeze®

Mid-sized Dianella with broad green leaves and masses of blue flowers; extremely tough and low-maintenance

Dianella caerulea DBB03 Trade Name Cassa Blue®

Native blue flax lily with broad steel-blue leaves and tall slender stems

Dianella hybrid ‘DP401’ PBR Trade Name Clarity Blue™

Silvery-blue native flax lily; broad steel-blue leaves and elegant form

Dianella caerulea DCMP01  Trade Name Little Jess™

Little Jess

Very compact flax lily with masses of purple spring flowers

Dianella revoluta DR5000 Trade Name Little Rev™

Dwarf Dianella with fine foliage and blue flowers; forms neat clumps; very hardy

Dianella revoluta DRG04 Trade Name Revelation®

Revelation

Mid-sized Dianella revoluta cultivar with blue flowers and robust growth; perfect for mass plantings

Dianella tasmanica TR20 Trade Name Tasred®

Tasred

Cold-hardy Dianella tasmanica with reddish leaf bases and blue berries; tough ornamental grass

Dianella tasmanica ‘TAS300’ PBR Trade Name Wyeena®

Variegated Tasman flax lily with striking cream and green striped leaves; hardy and drought tolerant

Why buying cultivated grasses online makes sense

Cultivated varieties are selected specifically for garden use. When purchased from reputable online nurseries, they provide consistency across batches, which is especially important if you are planting more than a few. With common form seed-grown plants, you’ll find that some plants are just not meant to survive as is the case in natural ecosystems. Only the strong survive, and the cultivars in this guide are the absolute strongest of the strongest.

The takeaway

If you have been cautious about grasses in the past, choosing well-behaved cultivated Australian grasses is the simplest way to get the look without the stress.

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