• All
  • Articles
  • Videos
  • Plants
Bookmark and Share



Page 1 of 1[1]

Tall Yellow Ornamental Grass

Most Active Topic:
Most Recent Topic:
Member Message
BlueBelle
Joined: 4/15/2005
Location: Ontario, Canada, zone 5a
Posts: 6485
Posted: May/12/2006 4:10 PM PST

I guess the ornamental grass thread I started last year was one of the ones deleted. Now that I'm ready to buy my grass, I wanted to refer back to it. There was a lot of good info in that thread So, I'm going to ask for advice again. Specifically for a tall yellowish-plumed (maybe more beigey) grass that I still haven't been able to find. I want to plant it beside my Russian Sage in front of the compost bin, to hide it. I know there is a 'Karl Foerster' Feather Reed Grass (Calamagrostis acutiflora) and an 'Arabesque' Maiden Grass (Miscanthus sinensis 'Arabesque'). Does anyone know of any other tall yellow grasses? Someone had posted a pic of theirs in late summer last year, but I can't remember who.

Karl Foerster:
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/gardim g/07232F3.jpg

Arabesque:
http://www.sunnyborder.com/photos-w/MISAR-W.jpg
pennyandrusty
Joined: 5/31/2005
Location:
Posts: 5502
Posted: May/12/2006 7:18 PM PST

I like the colour of the Karl Foerster.
fozbot3 blog photos
Joined: 1/18/2005
Location: Michigan
Posts: 7893
Posted: May/12/2006 9:21 PM PST

Blue, what form do you prefer...the wide vase shaped grasses or the more tight column type grasses?
BlueBelle
Joined: 4/15/2005
Location: Ontario, Canada, zone 5a
Posts: 6485
Posted: May/12/2006 9:37 PM PST

The one I saw and liked, and that would hide the bins better, is the tighter column type, Foz.
R33sGarden
Joined: 3/29/2006
Location: Alberta, Zone 3
Posts: 114
Posted: May/23/2006 9:27 PM PST

Sadly they're not hardy here, but [URL="http://www.denverplants.com/frnsgras/html/gr s_sacch_rav.htm"]plume grass [/URL]is really striking. [URL="http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/grasses/plume_g rass.html"]Pampas grass [/URL]is another name. (one site says zone 6 and the other zone 5, so take your pick. )

[URL="https://www.veseys.com/store.cfm?product=323 4&referer_cat=978&largeimage=1"]Zebra grass[/URL] is another option. It isn't yellow, but it is striking. I think I'm going to try it here, though it says it's only hardy to zone 4. I saw this when I was in Ontario last summer and loved it.

I can't wait to see some other options. My knowledge of grasses is limited, and my zone makes some of the more striking options unpredictable here.
sweetlebee blog photos
Joined: 5/09/2005
Location:
Posts: 19587
Posted: May/24/2006 2:07 AM PST

The pampas grass that I know from California is horrible stuff. It gets so huge that everyone ends up giving it a bad haircut, and it makes it even uglier, if that's at all possible. It's a dull wheat color for most of the year. Hate the stuff.
gardenmom
Joined: 4/24/2006
Location: Farm in Kentucky
Posts: 130
Posted: May/24/2006 2:58 AM PST

I have a pampas grass that does really well. It stays upright, gets about 6 to 7 feet tall and puts out pink plumes that fade to white in Aug/Sept.

I leave it standing all winter, use some of the leaves and plumes for fall decorations and have also used them to top a Christmas tree(beautiful)

I cut it back to about 6 inches in late Feb/early March.

It is the grass on the left of the pathway in the first pic.

Also I have ribbon grass, green and white stripe (gorgeous!) which gets about 3/3.5 feet tall. You can cut it to the ground if it gets ragged. It comes up early and will grow anywhere.

second and third photo.

Hope this helps,

Diana

Attachments:



R33sGarden
Joined: 3/29/2006
Location: Alberta, Zone 3
Posts: 114
Posted: May/26/2006 3:05 AM PST

Here's a list of perennial ornamental grasses that I lifted from a local gardening mag/article. You'll have to google them for pics, but I thought it might help.


The first list is hardy to zone 3/4 and the second need extra care here (so they may be just fine for zone 5/southern Ontario, but check first.)

Andropogon gerardii
Boutleoua curtipendula
Bouteloua gracilis
Calamagrostis x acutiflora Karl Foerster
Calamagrostis x acutiflora Overdam
Calamagrotis epigejos
Carex grayi
Carex muskingumensis
Deschampsia cespitosa Bronzeschleier, Goldgeaenge, Goldsheleier, Goldtau, and Schottland
Elymus cinereus
Festuca idahoensis
Helictotrichon sempervirens
Koeleria pyramidata
Luzula sylvatica
Misanthus sacchariforus
Miscanthus sinesis var. purpurascens
Panicum virgatum
Panicum virgatum Rotstrahlbusch, Squaw
Phalaris arundicacea Feesys
Schizachyrium scoparium
Sorghastrum nutans

Alopecurus pratensis Aureovariegatus
Carex flacca
Carex muskingumensis Oehme
Carex pendula
Festuca glauca
Festuca glauca Boulder Blue, Elijah blue
Luzula nivea
Miscanthus Giganteus
Micanthus sinensis Blutenwunder, Gracillimus, Malepartus, Sarabande, Silberfeder, Strictus, Yaku Jima
Molinia arundianacea
Milinia caerulea
Molinia caerulea variegata
Panicum virgatum Cloud Nine, Heavenly Metal, Prairie Sky, Shenandoah
Sesleria caerulea
Sesleria heufleriana
Sporobolus heterolepis
Stipa brachytricha



(apologies for typos, Latin isn't my speciality )
BlueBelle
Joined: 4/15/2005
Location: Ontario, Canada, zone 5a
Posts: 6485
Posted: May/27/2006 3:13 AM PST

I've searched for a lot of grasses already, R33. It was the tall yellow-plumed grasses I was after.
Page 1 of 1[1]
Read Next Discussion
You must be a registered member to participate in the forums. Login or register below.


or Create an account