Ornamental Grasses
Make the most of these versatile plants.
Reprinted with permission from Simply Beautiful
While most people think of their lawn or sod when they hear the word
"grass," there's another category of grasses that have gained some
long-deserved attention as garden plants.
There is a wide range of ornamental grasses and they come in every
shape, size and form imaginable and most are very
low-maintenance. Their versatility allows them to fill a number of
roles in the garden, including erosion control, specimen plants,
borders, components in containers, backdrops, winter interest and more.
A few questions to ask yourself before buying ornamental grasses:
Are you planting a decorative border or looking to use as a screen?
Do you need a small, medium or tall grass for your location?
Is the location sun or shade?
Do you want a single accent plant or a mass planting?
If it's a mass planting, do you want a "layered" look with different types of grasses or do you want to use just one kind?
Do you want the grass to survive the Winter? Choose those hardy to zone 2 or 3.
Here's a quick list of the different types of grasses out there.
Clumping grasses - Look for this type if you don't want
it to invade the space. These grasses grow into a neat mound or
clump and will grow in size slowly over time.
Rhizome
grasses - Rhizome simply means that this type of grass will spread via
underground roots or rhizomes. They can invade a perennial bed quickly,
so be sure to use them in places where you want this type of growth or
where they can be contained - like a bed bordered by concrete. A few
examples of this grass are blue lymegrass, cordgrass and ribbongrass.
Cool-season
grasses - These start growing earlier, usually perform well during the
Autumn months and go dormant or turn brown during the
Summer. They generally need to be divided more often than warm-season
grasses. Examples include blue fescue, feather reed grass, blue oat
grass, tufted hair grass and autumn moor grass.
Warm-season
grasses - These prefer temps of 75 to 85°F (24 to 29°C) and are great
for covering up spent Spring bulbs during the Summer months. Good
examples of these grasses are Miscanthus, fountain grass, prairie cord
grass, northern sea oats, switch grass and pampas grass.
Planting and care tips:
Plant ornamentals grasses in the Spring or Autumn. If
planting in the fall, put down a layer of straw or hay to protect after
the first few frosts.
Plant in beds that have been
prepared with composted, organic matter in the soil. Don't plant any
deeper than the soil line and water immediately after planting.
Don't overfeed, as most grasses don't like high levels of fertilizer.
Water whenever the soil is dry.
With
perennial grasses, cut back the foliage to a height of about 4 to 6 in.
(10 to 15 cm) in the Spring before new growth starts to emerge.
If
you start to see die-out in the center of the plant, it's time to
divide it. Either do this in early Spring before new growth starts or
after the growing season is over in Autumn.
The Simply Beautiful web site
provides specific plant information about ornamental grasses and other
bedding plants. Or ask your local garden center for assistance when
choosing grasses that are right for you.
As promised, I am delivering simple ways for you to get more out of your perennial displays. Last month I encouraged you to use long blooming perennials to add color. This month's tip involves the feel or shape of a plant; the smoothness of its leaf, roughness of its seed pods, softness of its petals, etc. - in essence, the texture.
