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Posted: Dec/12/2007 5:11 PM PST
Hi all. I'm doing a little planning for the spring. Among the seeds that I want to get are ornamental grass seeds. I know that some grasses "creep" and will take over a yard/garden, but I don't know which ones. Could anyone advise me about these grasses: Festuca glauca, Stipa tenuissina 'Angel Hair', Anemanthele lessoniaa, Panicum virgatum (Switch Grass). Thank you. 
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Posted: Dec/13/2007 9:05 PM PST
Maybe I should have put this in the "grasses and lawns" forum. Sorry. I was trying to figure out where it should go and had a bit of a brain freeze. Since I want to use these more as perennials, rather than grass in the sense of a groundcover, that's why I put it here. |
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Posted: Dec/14/2007 4:43 AM PST
http://www.bluestem.ca/grass-comparison-chart.htm Caroline! Sorry no one replied to your inquiry. The forums seem a little slow lately ~ probably the holidays and the weather combination! Check out the above link ~ I found this really neat-o ornamental grasses comparison chart. I have a couple you mentioned and some that you didn't and I am a huge grass fan. Either you are or you aren't. And we are in the same zone although in completely different states. The grasses I have (angel hair, miscanthus, liriope, zebra grass, and a couple I don't know the names) are pretty well-behaved. My best advice is ~ put them where you really-really want them. They are a beee-yatch to dig up and divide. I actually broke a shovel handle in two last year trying to dig zebra grass out. You may also want to plant the larger grasses where you can mow around them. That way, if the clumps get too big, you can keep them in check. I am so thankful for my grasses ~ in the winter, they're all I have to look at in the garden. Some people actually spray paint the dried standing stalks in winter for that day-glo look. Not my cup-o-tea but ~ interesting  P.S. Forgot to mention ~ most grasses are very slow to start from seed so your taking-over problem shouldn't be an issue for quite some time. |
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Posted: Dec/14/2007 12:17 PM PST
just beauitiful!! |
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Posted: Dec/15/2007 7:48 PM PST
Thank you. KeyWee, that chart will really come in handy. Ron, that grass is so beautiful. I might try that instead of the blue fescue.
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Posted: Dec/21/2007 5:30 AM PST
I have a few ornamental grasses in my yard and none of them have been what I would call invasive. Over time the clumps have gotten bigger. Some ornamentals send out shoots.. now those you have to watch for, they might not go where you wanted if you have a formal garden. Every so often I divide my ornamentals.. otherwise the center tends to die out. Love the blue grass!! Gonna have to get me some of that!! Beautiful pictures! |
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Posted: Jan/09/2008 11:16 AM PST
Hi Caroline I planted some Anemanthele Lessoniana for a customer(different spelling) but probably same growth habit. This is what is on the label hope it helps! Wind grass, Gossamer Grass. A good landscaping grass forming large clumps of flowing foliage with a yellow golden brown/rust colour or green if in the shade. Graceful flowering stems produce a light feathery appearance. Sun or Shade drought tolerant. (syn. Oryzopsis ridida) Height 80cm Width 1meter. This one is a New Zealand Native! It looks lovely blowing in the breeze.
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Posted: Jan/09/2008 1:00 PM PST
If you have an ornamental grass that spreads thru underground runners and is threatening to take over, plant it in a pot. Use a large pot at least 12 inches deep, then bury the pot in the ground leaving about 1/2 inch rim above ground. This will allow you have your lovely ornamental grass but the pot prevents the roots from spreading. This will require lifting, deviding and replanting every few years to prevent it from getting root bound but as Chatty said they often needs this anyway to prevent that center die out. |
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