Melica: Planting, Growing and Care

Description and Botany

Melica, or melic grass, is a perennial ornamental grass from the large Poaceae family. It grows wild in meadows and rocky areas of temperate regions worldwide. The genus includes over 70 species, among which Melica ciliata or hairy melic, Melica nutans or mountain melic, Melica altissima or Siberian melic (the tallest of the genus), and its variety ‘Atropurpurea‘ with stunning brown-purple spikes, are the most common in our gardens. You may also encounter Melica uniflora or wood melick.

The size of melica varies between species, ranging from 20 cm to 1.20 m in height when in flower. This rhizomatous grass forms dense clumps while still allowing light to filter through. Its habit is bristly yet retains a soft, slightly loose and trailing appearance.

Melica ciliata, Melica nutans, Melica uniflora, botanical plate circa 1903

The foliage is deciduous to semi-evergreen depending on winter severity. It also varies between varieties. The leaves are long, narrow, linear, arched, sometimes slightly rolled and slightly rough to the touch, resembling grass. They range from fresh green to light or dark green or grey-green. These are quite characteristic leaves of the Poaceae family.

From this gramineous mass of foliage, panicle inflorescences emerge from May to July-August. They sway at the slightest breeze. While Melica uniflora bears fine spikelets evoking a shower of rice grains, Melica ciliata displays creamy-white feathery flower spikes over 10 cm long with numerous bristles (or silky cilia), whereas Melica altissima ‘Atropurpurea’ stands out with its shiny purple spikelets reaching up to 25 cm long.

Highly graphic, they are prized for dried or even fresh flower arrangements during the growing season.

After flowering, these delicate spikes turn silvery, pearly beige, brown or purple as they fruit and transform into seeds, leading to self-seeding. This grass naturalises easily in light soil.

Melica ciliata on the left and Melica uniflora on the right

Main species and varieties

Sun, partial shade or even full shade – there’s at least one for every situation.

Melica ciliata

This melic grass will thrive in most gardens, in full sun. Plant it in a naturalistic border, meadow or rockery.

• Flowering time June to August
• Height at maturity 80 cm

See the product sheet

Melica altissima Atropurpurea

The tallest of its genus! Stunning with its brownish-purple spikes in midsummer.

• Flowering time June to August
• Height at maturity 80 cm

See the product sheet

Melica uniflora f. albida

A very graceful melic grass with infinitely delicate flowering. This variety self-seeds readily in light soils. It forms a lovely ground cover, preferably in partial shade.

• Flowering time June to August
• Height at maturity 45 cm

See the product sheet

Planting Melica

Where to Plant It?

Melica grass boasts excellent hardiness, tolerating temperatures as low as -20 to -25°C. This ornamental grass is very easy to grow in most regions. It thrives in any good garden soil that is not too acidic, remains slightly moist in summer, and is well-drained in winter, as it only dislikes excessive water. Poorly drained soils often prove fatal and shorten its lifespan. Most Melica species tolerate stony and/or chalky soils quite well. Melica ciliata is best suited to dry soils and arid exposures, withstanding drought well. It is ideal for rockeries and dry slopes that are difficult to vegetate.

Generally, Melica grasses perform best in sunny but not scorching locations or light shade (Melica ciliata and altissima) and in any moist soil. Melica nutans prefers shaded spots, while Melica uniflora can even grow in full shade. In very hot regions, if exposed to excessive sun, the foliage may go dormant in summer, though this does not harm the plant.

Melica works wonderfully when planted in scattered groups in large wildflower borders, natural meadows, along pathways, at woodland edges, or at the base of shrub hedges. It creates striking graphic and luminous effects. Some smaller species also make excellent ground cover in partial shade. It also thrives in large pots on patios, allowing you to enjoy its colourful spikelets up close.

When to Plant Melica?

In colder regions, plant your Melica preferably in spring to give it a full season to establish. Plant once the risk of frost has passed.

Melica ciliata alongside perennials that tolerate poor soils

How to Plant It?

In the Ground

Plan for 3 to 5 plants per square metre for a lush effect. Add a generous shovelful of gravel to heavy or compact soil to improve drainage. Incorporate well-rotted compost if the soil lacks fertility.

• Weed the area thoroughly
• Loosen the soil well
• Dig a hole about twice the size of the root ball
• Add a drainage layer at the bottom
• Place the root ball in the centre with the collar level with the soil
• Backfill and firm gently
• Water generously
• Mulch to reduce watering needs

→ Also check out our guide on planting ornamental grasses!

In Pots

• Choose a pot at least 50 cm wide and deep with drainage holes
• Add a layer of clay pebbles (or gravel, crushed stones, etc.) at the bottom
• Mix equal parts garden soil and potting compost
• Add coarse river sand
• Plant your Melica without burying the foliage
• Fill with the mix and firm lightly
• Water well
• Apply an organic or mineral mulch

Care and Cultivation Advice

In the Ground

Once well established, it’s an ideal grass for sustainable gardens, requiring little water and no maintenance. However, make sure to water regularly during the first year after planting, to ensure the plant establishes well. After that, except during severe and prolonged drought, Melica will be content with rainwater alone.

In late winter, tidy up the clump by removing dry parts with pruning shears or shears. You can cut the plant back to 10-15 cm from the soil, and it will quickly produce new foliage.

In Pots

Remember to water pot-grown Melica, as it will need more water, especially in very hot weather. Allow the compost to dry out slightly between waterings. Every spring, work in 2-3 handfuls of compost by lightly scratching the surface. Repot every 2 or 3 years into a larger container and top-dress in between.

Melica is unaffected by diseases and pests.

Propagation

We recommend dividing clumps as the simpler method, although sowing Melica is also possible.

Division

This should be done when the plant is well-rooted, after 3 to 4 years of cultivation.

1. In spring or early autumn, dig around the clump using a sharp spade
2. Lift the rootball and divide it into several sections
3. Replant these sections with roots immediately in their final location after preparing the soil
4. Water thoroughly

→ Discover how to divide ornamental grasses with our video

Sowing

Melica self-seeds well without becoming invasive. You can collect seeds and sow them in spring, in trays or buckets filled with a very fine mix of compost and sand. Keep the substrate moist but not waterlogged, at a temperature of 20°C until the young plants emerge. Transplant them into individual buckets to strengthen them before planting them out in the garden in early autumn or the following spring.

Pair with

With their airy habit and easy cultivation, Melica grasses offer numerous pairing possibilities, bringing a light and poetic touch to the garden.

They are easily incorporated into a naturalistic meadow. Place them in small clusters among other summer-flowering perennials, such as poppies, cornflowers, love-in-a-mist, Linum perenne, and Achillea millefolium.

For a naturalistic effect, punctuate the scene with other ornamental grasses featuring decorative spikes, such as Miscanthus and Stipas.

Melica ciliata at the centre, alongside Achillea millefolium, love-in-a-mist, flax, Stokesias, and Miscanthus

In a cottage-style border, pair them with fluid flowering perennials such as cosmos and Verbena bonariensis. They will contrast with the more compact and regular forms of Echinaceas, dahlias, Oriental poppies, or soften those of Echinops ritro and Eryngium planum. Add colourful accents with Gauras and Asters, known for their delicate flowering.

In a gravel garden, pair them with the rounded heads of ornamental alliums and other wild grasses like fountain grass.

→ Watch our video ‘Ornamental Grasses for Summer’