Interest and use of Ornamental Grasses have exploded in recent years! And we fully understand why as there are so many exciting varieties to choose from. Ornamental grasses add texture, movement, height and long season colour to our gardens – something that many other plants can’t offer. They are an essential complement to shrubs, trees, perennials and hardscapes. Just a little annual maintenance prepares your grasses for another wonderful show. Ornamental grasses truly are spectacular additions to any garden or landscape!
We have listed some of the more popular varieties – please call for any questions on these or any others.
Feather Reed Grass (Calamagrostis acutiflora)
Feather Reed Grass are especially appealing because of the erect clumps of narrow green leaves and in the summer feature stiff flowering stalks. They can grow anywhere from 3’ to 6’ adding exceptional vertical interest to your landscape, even in winter when they are frosted and twinkling in the winter sun. You have probably seen them planted in common areas of streets boulevards or parking lots because require very little maintenance to retain its sculpted appearance. The hybrid varieties that we stock such as Karl Foerster, are both easy to grow and non-invasive. A few popular varieties:
Korean Feather Reed Grass (Calamagrostis brachytricha)
This ornamental grass is a warm season variety that is upright with an arching habit. This variety prefers a shady area but will tolerate full sun with adequate water. Pink tinged flower plumes appear in late summer. Glossy green leaves turn a yellow-gold in fall. This grass will grow 3’-4’ tall and 2’-3’ wide. It does well in most soil conditions, even clay soils though it does need to be kept moist. This grass should be cut down to the ground in late winter or very early spring. This hardy grass is disease and deer resistant.
