Ornamental Grasses

 

Grass may conjure up a picture of lawns in your mind’s eye, but that is not the subject of this article. This article is about the fantastic plant world of ornamental grasses & grass-like plants like Feather Reed Grass & Sedge Grass & Switch Grass & Zebra Grass & New Zealand Flax! These are a lot more exciting than lawns and don’t have to be mowed weekly.

 

Every garden and container can benefit from the addition of an ornamental grass or grass-like plant. Grasses add a different texture, color and motion when grouped with other plants.

 

Ornamental grasses are also wonderfully low maintenance. They need to be deep watered for the 1^st year, and many become more drought-tolerant once established. This makes them great plants for water conservative landscapes.  Most ornamental grasses will need to be divided every 3-4 years depending on the size of the clump.

 

The grasses that stay evergreen can usually be sheared back in early spring when the old foliage looks bad. The deciduous grasses or grasses that turn brown for winter are usually sheared back in late winter or early spring. Even when dormant, they still add great winter structure so don’t shear them too soon. The grass blades are usually beaten down by February and can then be cut back to a few inches from the ground.

 

Recent trends in container design have used ornamental grasses in many ways. Use a single plant like New Zealand Flax (Phormium) or one tall Zebra Grass (Miscanthus) in a container for a dramatic effect. Mix grasses like Reeds (Juncus) or Orange Sedges (Carex) with a group of plants to make a very nice garden in a pot. The combinations are endless.

 

In a landscape, grasses can be grouped or massed together like Blue Fescue (Festuca) or Black Mondo Grass (Ophiopogon).  Think about planting them in threes or odd numbers. Grasses like ‘Shenandoah’ Switch Grass (Panicum) or ‘Avalanche’ Feather Reed Grass (Calamagrostis) can also be used as a focal point. These large growing grasses add a wonderful architectural texture to the garden. They can be planted at any time and enjoyed through the fall and winter months. 

 

September is a perfect time to visit any of Al’s Garden Center three locations to see what ornamental grasses look like at their full growth.  After seeing a few you’ll never again confuse ornamental grasses for the same grass that makes up your front lawn.