Graceful Graces

I have been noticing that as gardeners (and their gardens!) evolve, there is a definite pattern of branching into other plants that offer foliar and textural interest, or interest other than the traditional floral displays. Ornamental grasses can fill that niche quite nicely.

Ornamental grasses are not shy violets, no pun intended. Even the more diminutive varieties make fine focal points in the garden, and demand attention while complementing more traditional plantings.

It wasn't that long ago that the choices of ornamental grasses were very limited. A person could always find mail order sources for Pampas Grass (Not very hardy around here), or one or two varieties of Miscanthus. In the past fifteen to twenty years, the list of grasses available to the home gardener has literally exploded. Interest has never been higher among gardeners about growing these wonderful plants.

The grasses are so wonderful because they are so unusual, and they are generally an easy-going group of plants to grow. If we offer them the classic combination required by any plant, correct climate, correct moisture levels, correct siting, and correct nutrients, they will reward us with lovely textural and multi-seasonal interest.

There are stately and tall growing grasses, intermediate grasses, and low growing grasses. There are grasses for moist locations, grasses for dry spots, grasses that do better in the sun, and grasses that do better in the shade. In short, there are grasses and grasslike plants that are available for any situation that the home gardener faces in his or her yard, except for maybe growing in concrete!

For quick screening purposes, grasses can fill the bill. They are great for adding to areas such as property lines and other areas requiring privacy, definition, or screening. This is especially true for someone who has a new home with relatively little landscaping. Grasses mature at a faster rate than shrubs or hedges, and can be used to create areas of privacy and shelter.

Some wonderful tall varieties of grasses that do well in our Southern Great Lakes Region include cultivars of Miscanthus sinensis, or Japanese Silver Grass. Among these tall grass are the cultivars 'Graziella', a 5 to 7 foot plant with early forming (late Summer) whitish inflorescences. (The "plumes" or flowers). 'Morning Light' grows to about 4 to 6 feet tall, with red-bronze inflorescences that age to cream or white and have a silvery foliage appearance due to white and green leaf variegation. 'Gracillimus', or Maiden Grass, has plumes that are red toned in September and fade to a pinkish tan as the season progresses. There are numerous other cultivars, this is just touching the bases with this large family of grasses. The Miscanthus family is clump forming, and all require full sun and most a moisture retentive soil to perform well, although at the same time they are drought-tolerant.

There are many intermediate and short grasses that can be grown. Although they do not have the dramatic height, they do well in a mixed border planting or closer to the foundation of a home, and look good in groupings, as well.

Helictotrichon sempervirens, or Blue Oat Grass, forms a 12 to 18 inch clump with blue aging to buff colored inflorescences in late spring. It forms a tight, rounded yet "spiky" form, and must be grown in well-drained soil and absolutely must be grown in full sun to perform its best. It does display drought tolerance, although not to the same degree as some of the other grasses. A grouping makes a wonderful focal point in a planting.

A little larger, but very pretty grass is Pennisetum alopecuroides, or Fountain grass. One good cultivar is 'Hameln', which grows from 24 to 36 inches tall. Its foliage is a darker green, and its inflorescences are white which age to a light tan. It, too, is a clump former, and to show its bests, it requires full sun and moisture retentive, but not boggy soil.

One very beautiful grass, grown for its foliage, is Hakonochloa macra 'Aureola', a variety of Japanese Forest Grass. Before going into the details, it is interesting to note that I have found conflicting information regarding its hardiness. I have several very reputable sources of this plant that rate its hardiness as only to zone 6. Other very reputable sources rate it hardy into zone 5. I am in zone 5b, so I have it in my garden, and it is doing well. I grow it in a protected and shady spot, which I would recommend for anyone in a borderline zone. Be aware that if you are a zone fiver like me, we need to brace ourselves that this grass might not survive a harsh winter down the road. Then again, it might indeed prove itself to be perfectly hardy over time throughout all of zone 5 as well. (Update: I have been growing this grass for the past two years, and it is thriving).

'Aureola' has yellow and green leaves which fall in a graceful, weeping manner. It has a distinctive oriental appearance, resembling bamboo in form. It is a clump former that is about 18 to 24 inches tall with a 30 to 36 inch spread. It is one of the grasses that do well in a shady location, and is absolutely beautiful as an accent plant in the company of other shade loving plants.

Hakonochloa 'Albostriata' is another form of the same grass with green and white variegation. It is identical in its requirements to 'Aureola', and does well in a shady situation.

Another grass grown for its foliage is Imperata cylindrica, or Japanese Blood Grass. This is another of those grasses that I have found conflict regarding its hardiness rating. More conservative sources rate it hardy into zone 6, and other reputable sources into zone 5. It grows well in moist, well-drained soil. The leaves transition from green on its lower blades to red on its upper blades. It is upright and not weeping, and is about two feet tall. It is a slow spreader, and I have found, it does not do well in windswept areas. It does better in sunny, yet protected areas, yet it can tolerate light shade as well. This grass grows from 12 to 18 inches tall, and looks good in a grouping.

A smaller growing little bundle of grass is Fesuca 'Elijah Blue'. This is a clump former about 10 to 12 inches tall, very neat in its habit and appearance. This was the very first grass I ever grew, until I became a bit braver and "graduated" to the larger varieties. I still love it, and would not be without it in my yard. It has a beautiful silver bluish-green color, and it is erect and rounded in appearance. To me, it resembles a sea urchin, a tight and spiky-appearing ball. It will form inflorescences which need to be removed to prevent self-seeding, which is easy enough to do. My opinion is that I like the foliage, and am not that impressed with its seed heads, anyway.

Now on to Pampas Grass. There was once a time in these parts that one of the only grasses that people said they were growing was "Pampas Grass". True Pampas Grass, Cortaderia selloava, is only hardy into zone 7. Most likely these people were growing a Pampas Grass substitute for more northern areas called Saccharum ravennae, or Ravenna grass. This plant grows to about 5 or 6 feet tall, but the plumes can soar to 12 or more feet above the foliage. If the other grasses demand attention, this one screams for it! Grow Ravenna grass as its own focal point, as its commanding presence tends to overwhelm anything it is planted with.

There are other plants which resemble grass in appearance, and one that I will mention is Liriope, otherwise known as Lilyturf. Again, there are some varieties that are hardier than others. However, It does seem that gradually over the years many catalogs have extended the hardiness rating of selected cultivars into zone 5. I have Liriope muscari variegata, which forms a whorl of leaves with white variegation. It has purple blooms in late Summer to early Fall that resemble grape hyacinths. If the foliage gets a bit brownish after winter, I shear it back in early spring. It is evergreen in warmer climates, and semi-evergreen in our region. It grows to about 12 inches or a little taller, and does well in shadier spots.

General care of ornamental grasses includes trimming of old, dead foliage and plumes in late winter to early spring. Fertilizer should not be overly high in nitrogen, which may cause excess and weak growth. Try offering them a good soil whose foundation is high in organic material, and side dress with compost or aged manure in the early spring.

Any divisions need to be done before the middle of Summer so that the root system can develop properly. Until the plants become established, keep them watered.

One of the most interesting aspects of many of the ornamental grasses with larger plumes is how they age to a beautiful wheat color, and how much winter interest they provide. I have a theory that this is one of the reasons they have really caught on in this region. They can hold up to winter, and look very pretty with a dusting of snow on them. Along with the dried flower stalks of a few other perennials such as Sedum, they provide much interest in the winter landscape.

One thing to keep in mind when choosing ornamental grasses, some of them are clump-forming and others are rhizomatous. The rhizomatous forms spread by "runners", and are best kept in areas where groundcovers are desired. Some of the seed heads of certain varieties will disperse to form new plants, so keep this in mind. Site them properly, and keep in mind their mature height. You might not want a clump of Ravenna grass right next to the picture window out front, but that same grass would look stunning as a specimen plant next to a pool of water. Do your homework before buying ornamental grasses. There are many fine websites to browse, and one for our region that I can highly recommend is: Amber Wave Gardens, located in Benton Harbor, MI. County extension agents and other nurseries specializing in grasses offer good advice as well.

Other than that, I will say one thing: As time goes by, I have found that the ornamental grasses have really "grown" on me! They offer so much for so little investment. The sound of a Summer breeze rustling their leaves and plumes, as well as their gentle swaying, offers life and animation to the garden in all its seasons.