Ornamental grasses are an easy-care way to add interest and texture to any landscape. Here are some tips about two of our favorites.
QUESTION: “A couple of years ago, I bought about 25 Karley Rose grasses to plant along the edge of a path. The plants were (and are) vigorous and healthy. During the past spring and summer, we had a lot of rain and the Karley Rose grasses got SO big they flopped over into the path.
“If we should have another wet spring and summer this year, will pruning back the grasses prevent them from getting so tall and floppy?” – Clare Oliva
ANSWER: It’s important to understand that pruning during the late spring or summer would limit the plant’s growth. Normally, the Karley Rose stands up nicely on its own. Maybe the force of the rain pressed the grass blades closer to the ground.
If you see this beginning to happen in the spring, you might try staking them or if you do decide to prune the lower areas nearer the path, cut the blades at angles to blend. Otherwise you will end up at the end of the season with lovely grass mounds with flat ended blades. Yes, I have done that before and it’s not a pretty sight. The best strategy is to cut off the foliage to 6 inches from the top of the ground in early spring before it begins its seasonal growth cycle. It will then grow into its natural shape.
Remember though, they do have a slight natural weep on some of the lower outer blades. The plumes grow straight, but can also be weighted down when there is a lot of rainfall. I have noticed this happening with the Karley Roses in my garden after a weekend of rain showers. As they dry out, they will usually pop back up.
QUESTION: “I have a question about wild grasses. I enjoy and have started a collection of different grasses. This year I added to my collection a Karl Foerster grass from my local nursery.
In years past, I would cut down my other grass in early spring and I have great success with them each year. I am not sure what to do with this newer variety. Do I cut back the flowering stems and grass, or just the stems producing the flower of the Karl Foerster grass? – Wayne
ANSWER: There’s no need for any special treatment, Wayne. The Karl Foerster grass (sometimes called Karl Forester) should be cared for just like other ornamental grasses by cutting it back close to the ground in early spring before it begins to sprout.
The two plants mentioned in the readers’ questions are among the favorite ornamental grasses for Cheryl and me.
Karl Foerster Grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora) is a cool season ornamental grass, named to honor the German botanist and plant breeder who, in the 1920s and 1930s, turned his hometown Bornim into a Mecca for gardening enthusiasts and later bravely resisted both the Nazis and the Soviet occupiers in East Germany.
Karl Foerster is a very strong grass in that it maintains its upright position without being too rigid in appearance. Flowers appear in and at first they are loose, feathery and pinkish in color, then, through the summer, they become very narrow, gradually turning a wheaten color that lasts through the fall. Recommended for zones 4 – 9.
Karley Rose Grass (Pennisetum orientale) is a warm season grass for zones 5 - 9. The green foliage is topped with long-blooming (June till frost) rose lavender plumes. I planted two Karley Rose Grass' on a berm we have in the garden, on either side of a green lace leaf Japanese maple. The texture and pink plumes really offset the green lace foliage of the maple.
Cool season grasses generally begin to grow earlier in the season and do well in cooler temperatures. When rainfall is scarce or temperatures are high, cool season grasses need more frequent watering. Warm season grasses handle hot weather and limited moisture quite well and can retain an attractive appearance without a lot of watering on your part.
The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees, shrubs and landscaping to steve@landsteward.org and for resources and additional information, including archived columns, visit www.landsteward.org
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Lavender brings fragrant history to your garden
Today we’ll take a look at a very old plant with a long and storied history, but one that deserves a fragrant place in your garden.
Lavender was definitely familiar to early Pilgrims arriving in America in the 1600s, and no doubt it helped to mask some of the less pleasant odors during their long sea voyages. But growing and using lavender goes back much further than that.
The word lavender has its origin in the Latin word “lavare” meaning to wash and has many connections with the concept of cleansing. The ancient Phoenicians used lavender in their bath water and as an air freshener. Greeks were said to anoint their feet with lavender oil, no doubt as an early odor eater!
Egyptians were big fans of lavender and evidence has been found in excavated tombs to show that they used it as part of the mummification process. Wealthy Egyptians would wear a compress on their heads, made of lavender that would create a pleasant perfume as it warmed with their body heat.
Lavender has also been used for many hundreds of years as a healing and calming herb. Roman texts describe its use in treating everything from insect bites to stomach and kidney ailments. Queen Elizabeth I is said to have drank lavender tea to treat migraine headaches and that popularized the rapid growth of lavender farms in England.
Growing lavender in the USA is not difficult and will reward you with the delightful sight and smell of this revered plant, even if you don’t plan to anoint your feet with its oil. However, note that lavender will NOT grow in highly humid areas such as south Florida. If you live in USDA zone 5 or further north, you probably won’t get a lush thick lavender hedge as you would in more temperate areas, but lavender is a hardy perennial and will bloom anew in the spring.
If you’d like to see a brief video that Cheryl made with tips for growing lavender, you can find it on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/GreenwoodNursery
Ready to enjoy your own lavender? Try these…
Lavender Provence
A beautiful addition to any garden path, container, or border plant, it has a strong fragrance and is long blooming. The Provence Lavender is a Lavandin variety which refers to the hybrid lavenders commonly grown in France and cultivated for the oil and dry buds. A wonderful attraction for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds,.the du Provence Lavender has pale blue to purple blooms, growing to two foot with a two foot spread. Zones 6 to 9.
Lavender Grosso
The most fragrant of all the lavenders, Grosso Lavender is a hybrid variety commonly grown in France and used in scenting perfumes and making sachets. An abundance of long spikes of deep violet flowers standing well above the grey/green compact foliage makes the Grosso a remarkable addition to any garden. Additionally, the Grosso is the most cold-hardy of the French hybrid lavenders. Zones 6 to 9.
Lavender Hidcote Blue
If you’re looking for a lower-growing lavender variety, try this one. Hidcote Blue, a.k.a. lavender angustifolia, is a free flowering dwarf variety that produces deep purple flower spikes in late spring and summer. Lavender Hidcote Blue is great for a dwarf hedge, edging or for massing. As a famous English Lavender, the Hidcote’s blooms are distilled to provide one of the purest lavender scents. Zones 5 to 10.
Lavender Munstead
Munstead is a many-branched, somewhat woody, perennial that grows much like a small shrub. The narrow leaves of the Lavender Munstead are about 2 inches long and have a pleasing grey-green color. Munstead Lavender has small, heavily fragrant lavender flowers on long-stemmed, slender spikes. As a favorite English Lavender, the Munstead is a top choice for the edible buds. Zones 5 to 9.
Lavender grows best in rocky, dry, sunny places with an abundant amount of lime in the soil. The scent is strongest in dry, sunny locations. You can cut faded whole flower spikes when the first flowers begin to open, and then dry them for use in sachets in the home.
Lavender was definitely familiar to early Pilgrims arriving in America in the 1600s, and no doubt it helped to mask some of the less pleasant odors during their long sea voyages. But growing and using lavender goes back much further than that.
The word lavender has its origin in the Latin word “lavare” meaning to wash and has many connections with the concept of cleansing. The ancient Phoenicians used lavender in their bath water and as an air freshener. Greeks were said to anoint their feet with lavender oil, no doubt as an early odor eater!
Egyptians were big fans of lavender and evidence has been found in excavated tombs to show that they used it as part of the mummification process. Wealthy Egyptians would wear a compress on their heads, made of lavender that would create a pleasant perfume as it warmed with their body heat.
Lavender has also been used for many hundreds of years as a healing and calming herb. Roman texts describe its use in treating everything from insect bites to stomach and kidney ailments. Queen Elizabeth I is said to have drank lavender tea to treat migraine headaches and that popularized the rapid growth of lavender farms in England.
Growing lavender in the USA is not difficult and will reward you with the delightful sight and smell of this revered plant, even if you don’t plan to anoint your feet with its oil. However, note that lavender will NOT grow in highly humid areas such as south Florida. If you live in USDA zone 5 or further north, you probably won’t get a lush thick lavender hedge as you would in more temperate areas, but lavender is a hardy perennial and will bloom anew in the spring.
If you’d like to see a brief video that Cheryl made with tips for growing lavender, you can find it on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/GreenwoodNursery
Ready to enjoy your own lavender? Try these…
Lavender Provence
A beautiful addition to any garden path, container, or border plant, it has a strong fragrance and is long blooming. The Provence Lavender is a Lavandin variety which refers to the hybrid lavenders commonly grown in France and cultivated for the oil and dry buds. A wonderful attraction for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds,.the du Provence Lavender has pale blue to purple blooms, growing to two foot with a two foot spread. Zones 6 to 9.
Lavender Grosso
The most fragrant of all the lavenders, Grosso Lavender is a hybrid variety commonly grown in France and used in scenting perfumes and making sachets. An abundance of long spikes of deep violet flowers standing well above the grey/green compact foliage makes the Grosso a remarkable addition to any garden. Additionally, the Grosso is the most cold-hardy of the French hybrid lavenders. Zones 6 to 9.
Lavender Hidcote Blue
If you’re looking for a lower-growing lavender variety, try this one. Hidcote Blue, a.k.a. lavender angustifolia, is a free flowering dwarf variety that produces deep purple flower spikes in late spring and summer. Lavender Hidcote Blue is great for a dwarf hedge, edging or for massing. As a famous English Lavender, the Hidcote’s blooms are distilled to provide one of the purest lavender scents. Zones 5 to 10.
Lavender Munstead
Munstead is a many-branched, somewhat woody, perennial that grows much like a small shrub. The narrow leaves of the Lavender Munstead are about 2 inches long and have a pleasing grey-green color. Munstead Lavender has small, heavily fragrant lavender flowers on long-stemmed, slender spikes. As a favorite English Lavender, the Munstead is a top choice for the edible buds. Zones 5 to 9.
Lavender grows best in rocky, dry, sunny places with an abundant amount of lime in the soil. The scent is strongest in dry, sunny locations. You can cut faded whole flower spikes when the first flowers begin to open, and then dry them for use in sachets in the home.
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