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ORNAMENTAL GRASSES ADD YEAR-ROUND VARIETY TO GARDEN
Can you think of a plant that puts on its best show in winter? I'd cast my vote for ornamental grasses - they're about the hottest thing going in gardening.
I've been a fan of ornamental grasses for years, primarily because of several clumps of feather reedgrass (Calamagrostis acutiflora 'Karl Foerster') growing in my yard. This grass grows to 4-1/2 ft. and is topped with stiff straw-colored seed stems that dance in the winter breeze.
A couple of years ago, I planted a pot of giant miscanthus (Miscanthus giganteous) to hide a utility post in my front yard. Last year it grew to over 8 ft. tall but failed to produce its plumy seed heads. This year's late fall enabled my giant miscanthus to produce its showy plumes in late October. Its bamboo-like stems and seed fronds wave gracefully above the new blanket of snow.
There are more than 100 ornamental grass varieties that will perform satisfactorily in our Zone 4 gardens. During the growing season, ornamental grasses range in height from 6 inches to 14 feet or more. They can be used as accent plants, ground covers, screens, border edgings, or as companions with a wide range of flowering herbaceous plants.
Listen to these descriptive traits of various grasses: pink flowers, huge leaves, winter sound and movement, dense blue-green foliage, silver plumes, red fall foliage, reddish-purple flowers, bamboo-like stems, yellow and pink stripes on new foliage, and green foliage with horizontal yellow bands. Now, aren't you a little bit curious and anxious to try some of these in your garden?
We are fortunate to have a local ornamental grass expert in our community. Mary Meyer, who heads up Minnesota's Master Gardener program, also conducts research on ornamental grasses at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. In fact, she's authored a booklet, "Ornamental Grasses for Cold Climates," that contains descriptions and colored photos of the best grasses for our area. It's modestly priced and available at the Arboretum bookstore.
The primary focus Meyer's Arboretum research is grasses in the miscanthus family. The experimental planting, which is near parking lot 8 on the Arboretum's 3-mile drive, features more than 30 miscanthus varieties.
The purpose of Meyer's research is to observe which grasses are the most winter hardy, exhibit fewest insect and disease problems, provide multiple season interest, have the most interesting colors, and interact best with the wind to provide motion and sound.
Based on this year's evaluations, some of the miscanthus varieties you may want to shop for next spring include 'Sarabande' (variegated 3/8-inch leaf with white vein), 'Bitsy Ben' (cascading feathery leaves; looks like a rag doll); 'Juli' (tall, slender, like a ballerina), 'Klein Fontaene,' 'Zebrinus,' and 'Variegatus.'
Ornamental grasses are propagated from seed or division, and can be purchased from seed companies and garden stores. Most improved strains will not come true from seed and must be propagated from divisions. Grasses do not transplant well after mid-summer because root growth slows dramatically.
Ornamental grasses tend to be either clump formers that increase in circumference each year and can be divided, or rhizomatous type that spread laterally at varying rates. You should know what type you're planting and choose the site carefully, since some rhizomatous varieties can spread as much as 15 feet per year!
Perhaps you've heard people call any tall ornamental grass "pampas grass." The only true pampas grass is Cortaderia selloava, which will not grow in our climate. Last March, I started pampas grass seeds that I had ordered and grew them under lights through May, then transplanted the seedlings outside in June. The spindly plants never grew beyond knee-high and were a complete disappointment. I now agree that pampas grass is not meant for Minnesota.
If you want to plant an ornamental grass in your garden, I'd recommend starting with one of the miscanthus varieties mentioned above. Most garden centers should have one or more of these varieties available in pots next spring.
An excellent way to learn more about ornamental grasses is the Internet. I typed "Ornamental grasses" in the search box of a popular search engine and got a listing of 68 separate web sites, many that feature color photos of individual ornamental grass varieties.
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PUTTING DOWN ROOTS:
A Delightful Blend of
Gardening Wisdom, Wit
and Whimsy
$10 + $2 for shipping
by Cliff Johnson |
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