Shade Tolerant Ornamental Grasses

I am looking for a few shade tolerant ornamental grasses that will combine well with my hostas.

Hakone grass and ornamental sedges are both plants that tolerate moist soils and shade. They are rated hardy to zone 4 and some sedges survive in zone 3. Start with a few plants and see how they fare in your garden. The 2009 perennials plant of the year, Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' (Hakone grass) has chartreuse leaves with a narrow green stripes. Another variety of this grass, 'Albo Striata', has a wider leaf with a white strip. These look great with large leaved blue hostas. Hakone grass can take a few years to get established so be patient. Carex elata 'Aurea' (Bowles Golden) is probably the most reliably hardy of the colorful sedges. It has narrow yellow-green leaves. Carex morrowii 'Variegata' (Silver variegated Japanese sedge) has green leaves with narrow white leaf margins. These also combine well with hostas.

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