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(eg. spring planting, landscape design)

Soon, eye-catching ORNAMENTAL GRASSES will be at their peak. Once considered too uncultivated and informal for most gardens, ornamental grasses are now valued for their beauty and open, flowing growth habit.  A sunny location, an occasional watering and good soil preparation are the only major requirements for ornamental grasses.  They are excellent low-maintenance additions to any landscape.  Because some clumps can become very large, make sure that you plant them in an area that can accommodate their size at maturity.

 

Most ornamental grasses have year-round appeal.  Depending on the variety, the blade-like foliage can range in color from solid green to green/yellow to reddish-purple to russet during the spring and summer months.  Feathery flower plumes appear in late summer or early fall.  Many hold their plumes all winter and display bright fall color before turning straw colored.  Their "evertan" winter foliage (an expression used by Dr. Allan Armitage, professor of horticulture at the University of Georgia) provides contrast and texture in the winter landscape.

 

If desired, you may cut back the old foliage on ornamental grasses to the ground before the new shoots emerge in the spring, but it is not mandatory.  If you cut back the plant, use caution. The blades on these grasses are very coarse and rough-textured.  Even the new spring blades can slice a finger or snag your clothes.

 

Probably the best known of the ornamental grasses is PAMPAS GRASS (Cortaderia selloana). Native to Argentina, Pampas Grass is a fast growing perennial grass that can reach a height of up to 8 feet in just one season.  Pampas grass will soon exhibit a multitude of soft, towering, cream colored plumes that rise above the clump of cascading, grass-like foliage.  

 

PURPLE FOUNTAIN GRASS (Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum') is a graceful, burgundy-bladed grass that is often incorporated into annual beds.  The attractive rose-red fluffy flower spikes it produces decorate the plant from summer through fall.  It is an easy plant to grow and once it becomes established, it is very drought tolerant.  Treat this grass as an annual. It is not winter hardy in our area.

 

DWARF FOUNTAIN GRASS (Pennisetum alopecuroides "Hameln') is a compact perennial grass that reaches a height of only 24 to 30 inches. It has dark green tufted blades that flow from the center of the grass clump. The buff-colored plumes arch over the foliage.  Dwarf Fountain Grass is also extremely drought tolerant.  

 

MAIDEN GRASS (Miscanthus sinensis 'Gracillimus') grows 6 to 8 feet tall. Its size makes it a superb focal point when planted alone or an excellent screen when mass planted. It is often used to hide utility boxes or other eyesores in the landscape. The slender, silvery-green blades of Maiden Grass turn a golden bronze color in the winter. Striking silver-colored plumes appear in the fall.

 

The blades of ZEBRA GRASS (Miscanthus sinensis 'Zebrinus') have bands of yellow and green. This perennial grass can grow to a size of 8 feet high and 6 feet wide. The feathery flower spikes which begin as coppery-pink tassels turn to a silvery white and remain all winter. Zebra Grass is a good hedge or screen and is quite drought tolerant. SWITCH GRASS (Panicum) is a native grass of the prairies in the interior U. S. The flat blades of this ornamental grass are green to gray-green and form relatively tight clumps that can reach from 4 to 7 feet high when in bloom. The feathery flowers of Switch Grass start out as almost pink, fade to white, then turn brown. Both blades and flowers last throughout the winter. 'Heavy Metal' is a popular variety with metallic blue blades that turn amber in fall and fade to beige in winter. The blades of 'Prairie Sky' are a strong blue-green that turn to a muted yellow in fall. Its upright form makes it a valuable architectural element in the landscape. Bluish flower plumes emerge in late summer.