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ornamental grasses

GrajeanGrajean Posts: 403
Ornamental grasses for a free draining sunny bed, any suggestions for this. Decided annual bedding too much work!

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  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 13,267
    Go onto the Knoll website, they have imo the best selection to look at.
    I, would then probably find somewhere cheaper to buy them!
    There are ashtrays of emulsion,
    for the fag ends of the aristocracy.

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 9,979
    I've been very pleased with a group of Calamagrostis × acutiflora Karl Foerster I planted.
    Unlike many grasses the stems stay bolt upright even in strong winds.
    When new growth starts to appear in the spring cut everything down to the ground. This is also the time to divide them if you want to increase stock
    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 50,309
    I wrote a response, but obviously it didn't go!
    What else are you putting with them @Grajean? That's just as important. I don't think they ever look right without other appropriate planting.
    Most people go for bulbs, then perennials like rudbeckias and heleniums etc, for later interest. V. bonariensis, and it's shorter varieties are also goo, along with later alliums. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • GrajeanGrajean Posts: 403
    Fairygirl, I have some red hot pokers, v. bonaeriensis, rudbeckias and some elderly roses .
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,061
    Lots of great grasses available, most are not hard work at all! This is a helpful blog to explore. Selseria autumnalis is a species I've tried this year, it has looked good all year. It's not as fancy as some others but is a great foil for taller perennials to grow through. 

    https://thegardenbarnhouse.com/2017/02/17/sesleria-autumnalis-a-new-grass-for-the-little-meadow/

    Molinias and Calamagrostis are also nice and seem quite easy. 
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,061
    I would avoid Stipa tenuissima though, it flops! 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 50,309
    That's good @Grajean. You need something in amongst them or they look a bit odd. Not sure about the roses, but that's probably just me.  ;)
    I went off grasses a long time ago @Hexagon, but I do have a few that I like, as they work well in my climate and with my planting. Spartina is tough as all hell, and doesnt mind being soaked or being dry. Hackenochloa is a great foil to almost anything, and I have a golden Libertia, which although not a grass, has good strappy foliage and looks very good with orangey plants.  :)

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • GrajeanGrajean Posts: 403
    Thank you both.
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