Molinia caerulea Banshee - Purple moor grass

Molinia caerulea 'Banshee' is a purple moor grass with a very upright habit and generous flowering that changes colour throughout the seasons. This perennial grass forms a compact clump, particularly luminous in autumn when the foliage turns golden yellow and orange. Resistant to cold, wind, and temporary drought, it has its place in contemporary borders or prairie-style gardens. Its foliage remains attractive for a good part of the year.

Molinia caerulea belongs to the Poaceae family. This botanical species, nicknamed purple moor grass, blue moor grass, or sometimes German moor grass, is widely distributed in acidic heathlands and peat bogs of temperate Europe, and is present from North Africa to Siberia. It is a clumping, non-suckering perennial grass that lives for many years. Its main botanical synonyms are Aira caerulea, Amblytes caerulea, Enodium caeruleum, Festuca caerulea.

'Banshee' is a cultivar resulting from selection work in Poland. The breeder is nurseryman Tomasz Grochowski, its distribution was handled by the Daglezja nursery and the Plantipp network. The variety appeared on the market in 2025 and benefits from Community Plant Variety Rights (PBR EU 69570). It was distinguished with a gold medal at the Plantarium-GroenDirekt trade fair. Unlike the type species, which can reach 1.50 m to 2 m in the wild, 'Banshee' remains more compact, scarcely exceeding 1 m in height, and it offers longer flowering, significantly more numerous spikes, and very good wind resistance. It is a sterile cultivar, which does not self-seed spontaneously.
The plant forms a tight, very upright clump. The deciduous foliage reaches 50 to 60 cm in height; the leaves are thin, ribbon-like, medium green to slightly bluish, grouped near the crown. The clump widens slowly to 50-60 cm. Flowering lasts from June to autumn. The fine, branched panicles are held well above the foliage. The spikelets, initially purple-violet, gradually turn red, then pink, then light beige as they dry. This colour change over the months adds great depth to landscape compositions. In autumn, the stems take on yellow to orange hues, while the foliage turns golden yellow. The dried spikes remain decorative in winter.

Plant Moor Grass 'Banshee' in groups of three or five specimens in a sunny border, in soil that does not dry out in spring and early summer. You can associate it with perennials like Persicaria amplexicaulis 'JS Caliente', Sanguisorba tenuifolia 'Pink Elephant' and Aster cordifolius 'Little Carlow', but also other grasses such as Panicum virgatum 'Rehbraun' or Sporobolus heterolepis 'Cloud'.