What is your favorite grass?

Garden Forum » Grasses in the Garden Forum » What is your favorite grass? « Previous    Next »

Author Message   Formerly_ci  My Weather Posted on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 07:27 pm:    I like grasses but mostly in other peoples gardens. My time as an intern at NYBG had me staking too many giant monster Miscanthus and the silica in them really cuts you like a million little razor blades. So the only grass I have in my garden is Hakonechloa. I have Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola', Hakonechloa macra 'Albo Striata', Hakonechloa macra 'All Gold' and the straight species. I wouldn't be without them. Albo Striata and the straight species are especially vigorous and are now immense clumps in my garden. They are among the easiest plants in the world to make more of. Just pull out a blade or two with roots and poke it in somewhere else and you will have new clumps (eventually). Here is a photo of the fresh new leaves of 'Aureola'. It is not nearly as vigorous as the other two so I planted large groupings of it near my pond in the backyard. Best for partial shade as full sun can burn it. Formerly_ci - Currently NJ, Zone "6"   Goswimmin  My Weather Posted on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 09:02 pm:    I would love to have the one you hve pictured. I got an extremely tiny piece of one last year and it didn't grow. I don't even know if it made it through the winter. I have not seen that one is available in my area. My favorite right now is the purple fountain grass, even though it is not hardy here. I like most grasses except those that cut you when you are near them. Mary Goswimmin - Georgia, Zone "7b"   Fritillary  Posted on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 10:23 pm:    This is a dwarf form (P.'Burgundy Dwarf'). I love the contrasting green stems and the more manageable size. Fritillary Florida Zone 9B   Goswimmin  My Weather Posted on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 10:38 pm:    That dwarf looks really good. Mary Goswimmin - Georgia, Zone "7b"   Vtskiers  My Favorite Photo My Weather My Garden Posted on Thursday, April 22, 2004 - 02:36 pm:    I love grasses and have many types including some beautiful mature clumps of Hakonechloa. Although the larger Miscanthus varieties get too big and floppy in my relatively small and somewhat shady garden, some of the smaller and more upright forms will always earn a spot. My favorite in this group is M. 'Sarabande'. It's just gorgeous in flower. For fall color, M. purpurescens Since I can't choose just one, I also have vote for Pennisetum 'Hameln', Calamagrostis 'Karl Forster' and Panicum 'Shenandoah'. Sue Central CTZone 6a   Formerly_ci  My Weather Posted on Wednesday, April 28, 2004 - 03:01 pm:    A few more shots so the different types can be compared. H. macra 'Aureola' H. macra 'Albo Striata' H. macra As you can see they are the perfect partners for many other plants. Formerly_ci - Currently NJ, Zone "6"   Kniphofia  My Favorite Photo My Weather My Garden Posted on Wednesday, April 28, 2004 - 07:22 pm:    I love grasses too, I wish I could grow a wider range here in Maine. They add so much drama to the garden. I love Miscanthus. In England I grew Silberfeder and loved it. My all time favorite which I can't grow here is Stipa tenuissima. S gigantea too is wonderful. I like the pennisetums too, very effective. I remember them vividly from Sissinghurst. Sue Central Maine Zone 4   Gardenfiend  Posted on Thursday, April 29, 2004 - 07:18 am:    I do like those brown New Zealand grasses, but most don't like my climate. I did manage to keep Uncinia rubra alive through this past winter by swaddling it in fleece up to the neck. Everything protruding above the fleece died, but the rest is fine. I've also got Carex buchananii - which I confess to liking a lot. Gardenfiend - Germany, Zone "6-7"   Gardenbug  Posted on Thursday, April 29, 2004 - 08:44 am:    I have the very hardest time with names of grasses and ferns. But I love both. Vtskiers got me interested in Penesetum Karley Rose last Fall, so I'm waiting to see if it returns this season. I also have Sarabande in its first year with me as well. Another I am fond of is like Karl Foerster and is called "Overdam". It is variegated and remains erect through ferocious winds. Really pretty. In May... Close up of blades... In bloom with Verbena bonariensis Although I love grasses, I am fussy about how people use them. I don't like a clump of grass as the main and only feature in a front yard. I love them combined with autumn blooms, like asters, for a wild and naturalistic look. Gardenbug Ontario zone 4b/5b   Mrg  My Weather Posted on Tuesday, May 04, 2004 - 09:03 am:    One of my favorites is Molinia caerulea ssp. arundinacea 'Skyracer' or 'Transparent' which is very similar, but harder to find. The leaves form a mounding clump maybe 2 ft high but the flower stems reach up maybe 8 feet, rather arching in habit and swaying in even a light breeze. The flower stems aren't brittle at all and breakage seldom occurs. I first observed this plant at the MSU grass lab near East Lansing MI and fell in love with it. Mrg - Ohio, Zone "6"   Karmahappytoes  My Weather My Garden Posted on Tuesday, May 04, 2004 - 12:13 pm:    Formerly_ci, is this a loaded question? I have lots of grasses in my yard but the green stuff I have to mow is what we are trying to remove and add more of the ornamental stuff. karma 'Happy Toes' WA~PNW Zonal denial   Green_wizard  Posted on Saturday, June 05, 2004 - 06:55 pm:    My favorite is Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum' also called Purple fountain grass. I also grow a lot of Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens' in pots high up at chest hight,the tiny flowers & black seed pots are lovely. cheers Steve Green_wizard - Stoke on Trent, Zone "UK"   Frostycurls  My Garden Journal My Weather My Garden Posted on Saturday, June 05, 2004 - 11:46 pm:    I love all the forms of Hakonechloa but would you believe I've never been able to find the species. My favorite miscanthus is Cosmopolitan. Penny Oregon Zone 7   Kathie2342000  Posted on Saturday, July 03, 2004 - 05:23 pm:    I just love the Panicum Shenandoah also it takes the Winters without stress here in zone 5 and come later in the Season a true show stopper. The Korean feather reed is also a good grass, but for me it needs to be supported when it starts to stop flopping in Aug with the heat and thunderstorms begin.The Zebra is a knockout. I have two clumps and I'm sure that they will outlive me. I love them all and wish we all had room for them all. Kathie2342000   Formerly_ci  My Weather Posted on Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 10:30 am:    Penny it is easy to get the species. If you have H. macra 'Aureola' just look your plant over. It is likely over the course of time it will revert at least once. You can just yank you this reversion (often just one blade with roots attached) and plant it elsewhere and eventually you will have a big clump. The green grows so much faster then the yellow so it shouldn't take to many seasons to have a good clump. Kaveh, Currently UK, zone 8   Fritillary  My Weather Posted on Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 02:07 pm:    Steven, Have you seen Pennesetum macrostachyum 'Burgundy Giant'? This is my first clump planted this winter. It is much different from the dwarf I posted above on this thread. Fritillary Florida Zone 9B   Fritillary  My Weather Posted on Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 02:11 pm:    If anyone is looking for grasses that blend particularly well in a perennial boarder I have 2 recommendations: Panicum Cloud 9 is wispy enough to let other plants be seen through it and its lovely blue color goes well with anything. and One foot tall Miscanthus 'Dixieland' is a good edger or accent. Fritillary Florida Zone 9B   Gardenbug  Posted on Saturday, September 25, 2004 - 06:15 pm:    Time has past since we began this thread...and I now have a new favourite. It is hard to photograph, but I just love looking at it from the diningroom window. Calamagrostis brachytricha Sarabande, which Sue recommended is about to bloom for the first time. I planted it last Fall. Karley Rose did return and has been just lovely, even though rather small still. Just keeps sending out more influorescences. Shenendoah has yet to find a home. Where oh where will I find room for it? I was also given Miscanthus 'Huron Sunrise' and 'Morning Light'. I hope my next visitor brings me another acre of land.... Gardenbug Ontario zone 4b/5b   Venusxmantrap  My Weather Posted on Sunday, July 23, 2006 - 09:15 pm:    Would pampas grass look okay planted around the base of a tree? I just ordered some pampas grass and i'm not sure where I'm going to plant it yet.. It will be my first ornamental grass, too. Venusxmantrap - TX, Zone "9"   Gardenfiend  My Weather Posted on Monday, July 24, 2006 - 01:56 am:    I think pampas grass looks best grown as a specimen; in other words standing freely. A single plant makes quite a large circular clump, so it really should have room on all sides. I believe it is often given its own space more or less in the middle of the lawn. Gardenfiend - Germany, Zone "7a"

Add Your Message Here Post: Thistle Photo By Sunnyday2day