Forum home Plants

Favorite ornamental grass

jamesholtjamesholt Posts: 551
I have miscanthus and pink muhly grass.  What are your favorites and why?
«1

Posts

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 10,897
    I only have a few grasses, but my fave is Calamagrostis × acutiflora 'Karl Foerster'
    It stands bolt upright even after strong winds.
    It doesn't spread all over the place.
    When the new growth is about 3-4" in the spring I cut it all down to the ground and can divide them at the same time.
    They are good for a formal look as they stand there like soldiers.
    Need no maintenance other than a yearly chop.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 11,624
    I love my Stipa Gigantica - great all year round interest and when the low sunshine shines through it, it is a breathtaking golden sight. Makes a big clump 3-4ft x 4-5 ft high but doesn't run.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • jamesholtjamesholt Posts: 551
    Did you grow your grasses from seed?  I dont know why but the ornamental grasses here like stipa gigantica are expensive.  A 5 gallon is 25 dollars.  
  • Stipa Tenuissima.
    Backlit by a low afternoon sun it is wonderful and I could watch the wind playing it for hours.

    Just another day at the plant...
  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,331
    James Holt.... I'm surprised you have Miscanthus... I thought that might be invasive in your area?..
    Muhlenbergia lindheimeri is one I like very much, but you seem to already have it.
    Chasmanthium latifolium grows in Texas in good soil... I like its foliage very much..

    Here I like several... Achnatherum calamagrostis is one of my best, various Stipas and Pennisetums... but they may also be invasive in your area.. I wouldn't know for sure..
    East Anglia, England
  • I like Gardener's Garters, Phalaris arundinacea var picta, with its leaves all having their own individual barcode. It nicely fills the gaps between other plants.
  • jamesholtjamesholt Posts: 551
    I dont think miscanthus is invasive.  It's very popular here and I dont think I have seen it where it wasn't planted
  • jamesholtjamesholt Posts: 551
    The only grass I see people complain about here is golden bamboo.  It is very difficult to control
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 11,624
    @jamesholt, no I haven't grown any grasses from seed - I bought the Stipa Gigantica as a small 2 litre size pot from memory  but don't remember what I paid for it, perhaps £10-£15? 
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 10,897
    I also bought my 'Karl Foerster' - 4 for £20 and I divided them the following year.

    Stipa tenuissima self seeds freely in my garden. I have to pull them out from all over the place.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Sign In or Register to comment.