Ornamental Grasses
Ornamental grasses are long-lived and low maintenance perennials whose arresting displays carry from spring through the dead of winter. The textures and foliage complement other perennials or can make an elegant statement alone. They provide the garden with graceful form, texture and color that changes throughout the year, even in winter.
Grasses respond and start to grow based upon temperature. There are cool and warm season species and varieties with each providing attractive geometric elements to the garden. Some grasses will start to grow in early spring when temperatures are still cool and others will wait until the soil is warm and temperatures are more stable. Many WPC gardens such as the garden on Carson Street at Sarah Street in Pittsburgh's South Side, have been planted with some ornamental grasses to provide year round interest to the site. Popular cool season grasses: Fescues, Blue Oat Grass, Tufted Hair Grass, Autumn Moor Grass. Warm season grasses: Northern Sea Oats, Japanese Silver Grass, Hardy Pampas Grass, Perennial Fountain Grass, Switch Grass.
Growth Habits
Before planting you should also understand the growth habit of the grass. Grasses have one of two growth habits: clump forming or rhizome forming. The clump forming grasses will grow in very nice, neat mounds or clumps and mix well with other perennials. The rhizome forming grasses spread by underground stems and can become very aggressive and invasive. They have their place though it may not be in a well-tended perennial border since they can soon take over an entire area. Before selecting a grass, be sure to understand how it grows so you won't be planting a future problem. Some attractive, but aggressive, grasses include Blue Lymegrass, Cordgrass and Ribbongrass.
Our Website has a new look. Check it out at www.paconserve.org.
E-mail Today's WPC Daily to a Friend!
Sign Up for WPC Daily
|
