I got this one to stop the erosion on this steep hillside. I bought 5 plants in 1 gallon pots. Don't plant this if your space is limited. It's a very invasive thug! It's doing what I wanted, but maybe a little more than I expected!
Korean Fountain Grass
Miscanthis that I planted this year
Small ornamental grass
Burgundy Bunny
Blue stem
All Gold shade grass
Variegated shade grass
North Wind
When all is said and done, there’s more said than done.
I'm afraid I lost this big clump of switch grass on the right, that I've had for years. I didn't notice that the variegated Willow shrub was blocking the sprinkler. I've cut it back and water from a different angle, so I hope it comes back next spring.
When all is said and done, there’s more said than done.
I just found this thread. I have found many uses for grasses (and grass-like plants, including mondo grass and sedges). Many years ago, I grew some of the huge miscanthus plants - they were actually beautiful, but they got so big and I thought they required too much labor to cut back in spring, so I got rid of them.
I love hakonechloa - I find H macra All Gold to be more vigorous than Aureola, but both are beautiful. They prosper in shade - which is perfect for my largely wooded lot. First pictures are All Gold, then the green/gold striped Aureola. I included a close up showing Aureola's variegation.
I have a strip of Imperata cylindrica Rubra (often called Red Baron) along my driveway. I realize it is too aggressive for some situations but has been very well behaved in my particular location. The variegation can be very beautiful when back lit.
I've used a variety of sedges, again because several species are well adapted to shade. Island Brocade is a variegated cultivar of C. ciliatomarginata with broad leaves which is a ground-hugger. I have it planted in a shady rock garden as well as in a planter.
Everillo is a golden cultivar of C. oshimensis which gracefully weeping leaves well adapted to the mottled sun in a woodland setting. It looked great for a few years but I wasn't diligent enough to keep the heavy leaf debris from smothering it to death. It's still alive but not thriving.
I am currently enamored of Carex eburnea. I have planted about 2 dozen plugs this summer. It is a very fine-leafed sedge which does best in dry shade. My woods are filled with dry shade and I'm delighted to have found a beautiful weed-suppressing ground cover which doesn't sulk in dry shade. The picture (taken today) shows a plant from last year. You can see how fine the foliage is in comparison with size of the oak leaf litter. I liked the look of it so well that I am hoping to replicate it throughout my woods.
I have several areas of dwarf mondo grass (Ophiopogon japonicus nana) - I think it looks nice in a partly shaded rock garden. It also has the most remarkable berries - brilliant blue! But you to look for them in winter to find them.
Finally, I want to give some love to liriope. There is a beautiful golden cultivar called PeeDee Ingot and another cultivar Okina which pure white new growth in the spring. And the flower display on some of the older cultivars (in this case, John Birch) isn't too shabby either.
So I love my grasses (and grass-like plants) now that I have found the right places for them.
Great selection, Scott! I've only ever seen pictures of the Hakone grasses, never in person. Love how they look.
I'm really liking the photos everyone has been posting on this thread. I've been in the process of downsizing and scaling back my garden, and these posts are giving me lots of ideas. Grasses plus Salvias (can't give up those)...that's a thought.
Scott,
You have a nice selection of smaller grasses! I'll have to remember this thread when I start shopping next spring. I do have to mention though, that I'm really impressed with how beautiful your brunnera are this late in the season!
When all is said and done, there’s more said than done.
Rose, I wish my brunnera was looking that good this time of year! That picture was from May of 2008. My brunnera are tattered and tired like most everone else's this time of year.
I grew Carex Banana Boat a few years ago, but it died out. At first, it looked like it was spreading nicely - I even posted a picture to the data base. But now I'm looking at my picture and I'm not sure if it's really Carex or a gold hosta. I think I'll ask admin to remove the photo as I'm not sure of it's real ID. At any rate, Banana Boat is no longer with me.
We got a couple of Carex 'Feather Falls' from HD's pack trials and planted them in the atrium of our Student Services building. It's an 'outside inside' room with no ceiling. This is what they look like 4 years later.
They're almost 3' across and 2' tall. The smaller Carex are 'Frosty Curls'
“That which is, is.That which happens, happens.” Douglas Adams
Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster' WW32 Feather Reed Grass S1- (Feather Reed Grass) Feather Reed Grass, Mature plant size: 4x2ft., narrow green foliage, airy 12 in. seed heads., USDA Hardiness Zone 5, Michigan Bloom Month 5, In Garden Bed S1 for 13 MONTHS (Menards). Planted in 2021.
Digging Dog Nursery: Named for pioneering German nurseryman Karl Foerster, this selection bears loose and airy 12 in. seed heads, which tighten to slender plumes by midsummer. Rising above 2 ft. clumps of narrow green foliage, the inflorescences create an ideal semitransparent veiling effect. Plant with deep green Viburnums to accentuate its golden flowering stems.
Photo by F.D.Richards, SE Michigan. Link to additional photos of this plant from 2021, 22:
Yes, it's definitely a "WOW" plant even surrounded by everything else around it. Unfortunately it's hard to see except in the 'room' or from above. Luckily the President's and Associate VP's offices are on the third floor so they get a great view!
“That which is, is.That which happens, happens.” Douglas Adams
Thanks, Scott. I haven't been able to keep Banana Boat alive, but I tried a couple of times. I do grow a few of the plants you posted but for some of the others, I will have to keep an eye open.
Nice carex selection, John. The Feather Falls look like they are in pots? I have a few carex that would benefit with a little height.
Frank, I always liked Karl Foerster but never had enough sun for it, so it always ended up spindly.
Ditto Scott and Loretta. For a couple of years there was no fence between me and my neighbor to the south and this young Karl Foerster thrived. The fence is back now and it's puny this year. Looking for a better location for it now, but I don't have much space
I don't have an ID on this. It now gets only a couple hours of sun a day and I thought that was why it has languished — neighbor to the west planted a mulberry tree which has blocked the sun. I was wrong! This year we had unseasonable heavy spring rains and it burst into song. . . it wanted more water!
Korean Fountain Grass
