"Sea Oats" - don't know their Latin name - get to be 4-5' tall here in Virginia and are lovely in the shade. They're starting to bloom now in my shade garden.

Hmmm, on the Ornamental Grasses forum I got a suggestion for "Northern Sea Oats." Is it the same thing? When I looked it up it said its only 2-3 feet. Is there a special tall stain of it? 4-5 feet sounds perfect.

Springcherry

Mine is a native that grows in moist woodland shade. Its height seems to depend on its age and growing situation. I checked mine this morning and it's 4' tall with maybe another 6" to go once it's fully in bloom. I've seen it taller in the woods. Unless you absolutely have to have the height, give it a try - it's lovely, and there just aren't that many grasses for shade.

Northern Sea Oats, aka Sea Oats is Chasmanthium latifolium, native to the E/SE/Central U.S. It's really shade tolerant and the seed heads look like oats dangling above the foliage. I've seen it 4-5 feet tall in reliably moist conditions. It is very pretty, but... I can guarantee you that you will get 110% germination from those seeds. It's an aggressive spreader, so give it some room or be prepared to manage its reproductive habits.

I still have only the single clump I started with three years ago. Isn't it funny how plants can behave so differently in different gardens?

Karl Forester is supposed to be shade tolerant

Bottlebrush grass (Hystrix patula, aka Elymus hystrix) can get to five feet. It is shade tolerant.

I have my original plant in full sun, but now that I see it tolerates the shade, I'll put my very first spreader into the side yard. Thanks for tips. My plant is about 4 feet tall, I love the seed head, looks like straw origami fish.