THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 28, 1996 TAG: 9604260071
SECTION: HOME & GARDEN PAGE: G1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBERT STIFFLER, GARDENING COLUMNIST
LENGTH: Long : 153 lines
FOR YEARS, we yanked and pulled and hoed to keep grass out of our gardens. But then landscape designers declared grasses are ``the hair of the earth'' and belong in American gardens.
Noted landscape designers like Wolfgang Oehme in Washington, D.C., and Edith Eddleman at the North Carolina State University Arboretum, started using ornamental grasses in gardens. And received acclaim.
Today grasses are available in shades from green to gray to yellow to red to white. And in heights from 8 inches to 8 feet. You can pick and choose to fit your personal landscape.
Much of the ornamental grass sold in this area is grown by Mike Hilton, owner of Knotts Creek Nursery, a wholesale grower in Suffolk. He says many ornamental grasses can be used in areas where salt spray is present and drought tolerance is needed.
``Ornamental grasses are best suited for naturalistic landscaping,'' Hilton says. ``They are great for making the transition from the corporate evergreen look to the natural unchanged environment. Corporate landscape images have changed by introducing grasses and perennials to soften the evergreen, stark look of the '60s and '70s to the viewer-friendly images of the '90s.''
Local landscape designer Brian O'Neil, owner of Southern Meadows Landscapes, is a leading proponent of ornamental grasses. ``I seldom include ornamental grasses to stand alone in a garden,'' he says. ``A garden composed entirely of ornamental grasses might be monotonous, so you should combine them with perennials, ornamental shrubs and old roses.''
O'Neil believes one of the main attributes of ornamental grasses is for winter effect. ``Their dry amber leaves and plumes look especially good against an evergreen background.''
He recommends a winter trio of fountain grass combined with Foster holly for berries and background, rising out of a groundcover of Parson juniper.
Here are some of the experts favorite ornamental grasses:
Oriental Fountain Grass (Pennisetum oriental). It grows 30 inches tall, with gray-green foliage and fuzzy, caterpillar-like pink flowers, that begin blooming in May and bloom all season. It must have well-drained soil and is a good candidate for dry gardens. The continual succession of blooms makes this plant one that O'Neil and other designers hold in high regard. Hilton also names Oriental Fountain Grass as a favorite.
Pennisetum Fountain Grass - ``Hamlen.'' Hilton likes this grass, which grows 24 inches tall with white blooms in July and August. Because of its small stature, it can be used where a low growing compact plant is needed.
Dwarf Pampas Grass. This grass, which reaches 6 feet high and 6 feet wide, is better scaled to smaller gardens than regular pampas, which grows to 8 feet high, O'Neil notes.
Miscanthus Grass ``Cabaret Cosmopolitan.'' This recent introduction is still a bit pricey but is the best of the variegated miscanthus, O'Neil says. They have a wide, white band down the center of their leaves and late-season plumes emerge reddish-purple before changing to tan. Best of all, these supposedly will not flop over, which is a problem with other variegated miscanthus grasses. Miscanthus Variegated Grass ``Silberfeil'' is a favorite of Hilton's. This improved version of variegated miscanthus has a stronger upright habit. The bold white and green leaves contrast with strawberry-colored blooms, making this grass an exceptional choice.
Japanese Blood Grass - Imperata ``Red Baron.'' This slowly spreading small grass has bright red upper foliage. O'Neil likes it in mass, especially when backlit by the afternoon sun. Hilton likes ``Red Baron,'' as well as ``Rubra,'' both of which have intense, blood-red foliage. `Rubra' has a more aggressive growth habit, spreading by rhizomes.
Golden Hakone Grass (Hakonechloa macra aureola). O'Neil recommends this slow-growing, pricey and shade-loving Japanese import. Its green and yellow arching foliage grows to 18 inches and lightens any dark corner.
Variegated Carex varieties. These are good cool-season grasses, Hilton says. The variegated yellow and green foliage grows 12 inches tall. They bloom in spring, but the flowers are of little signifigance. Their main attribute is tough foliage, which looks good even in the dead of winter. They requires considerable sun to retain their variegation.
Hilton also likes tall growing grasses, which some folks might think look more like corn than grass. Tall grasses would be best used as a hedge or windbreak or as a background in a large garden, he says.
Hilton lists these favorites.
Miscanthus ``Gracillimus'' Maiden Grass. It grows 7 to 8 feet tall with green leaves and a red tassel. It has a clump-forming habit.
Miscanthus Morning Light. It grows 4 to 5 feet tall with white and green foliage and red blooms.
Porcupine Grass. It grows 8 feet tall with horizontal bands of yellow variegation occurring perpendicular to the leaf margin. Its straight, tight, upright habit separates it from its look-alike cousin, Zebragrass.
Yaku Jima. A dwarf version of Maiden Grass, it grows only 3 to 4 feet tall.
Hilton acknowledges that some gardeners have been disappointed when their ornamental grasses fell over. He says that is caused by planting them too close together.
``They need to blow in the wind to gain strength,'' he says. ``Then they'll not flop. They should be planted no closer than the ultimate height of the grass.''
Most ornamental grasses are clump forming, much like many other perennials. Some spread by rhizomes, which can help prevent soil erosion.
O'Neil also has had some disappointments with ornamental grasses. He's not been able to grow blue fescue past early June.
``It can't seem to tolerate our summer heat,'' he says. ``It does look good in fall, winter and spring. The best blue foliage grass I've grown is Panicum virgatum `Heavy Metal,' which has steel-blue foliage but is a vertical clump, growing 4 feet tall. Its plumes are auburn in late summer.''
Another disappointment has been Calamagrostis ``Karl Foerster,'' which has not tolerated the summer heat of Hampton Roads. It grows well at the New American Garden at the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C.
Most ornamental grasses need a well-drained, sandy soil but do not require much fertilizer. Most like to be kept moist, except pampas grass, which will survive a drought.
``Grasses have become popular as a filler and accent in fresh and dried flower arrangments,'' said MaryLee Johnson, flower trials manager at Johnny's Selected Seeds. ``In Holland, they're a much more common fresh filler than baby's breath.
``Arrangements will often have as many as six different types of fresh grasses for use as line and accents as well as fillers. Two of the most popular at auction in Holland last August were Foxtail millet (Setaria machrocheatea) and Red switch grass (Panicum violaceum),'' she said. Johnny's now sells seed for Champagne grass, Feathertop and Fountain grass.
If you are considering trying grass in your garden but aren't sure it's for you, O'Neil recommends these ``grass look-alikes'':
Variegated Japanese Sweet Flag (Acorus gramineus variegatus) and Golden Dwarf Japanese Sweet Flag. These ``Sweet Flag'' grasses are often used in ponds and marsh gardens.
Carex conica marginata and Carex morrowi ``Evergold.''
Variegated dwarf bamboo. It's colorful but can be invasive.
Black Mondo Grass. It's used more and more in modern landscapes. ``Don't overlook the work horses of Southern landscapes - Mondo Grass and Liriope,'' O'Neil says.
Ornamental grasses can be found in most local nurseries. The variety depends on the nursery. They're much less expensive than shrubs and less than many flowering perennials. A one gallon container usually sells for $4 to $5; larger 3-gallon containers cost $12 to $14. MEMO: RESOURCES
``Ornamental Grasses,'' by Carole Ottesen. (McGraw Hill, paperback
$24.95).
For a free copy of Johnny's Selected Seeds catalog, call (207)
437-4395; fax (800) 437-4290; e-mail jsscomm mint.net ILLUSTRATION: Color photos by BONNIE APPLETON
Blue Fescue
Fountain Grass
Japanese Blood Grass
Cabaret Cosmopolitan
Pampas Grass
Color photo by ROBERT STIFFLER
Varigated Dwarf Bamboo
by CNB