EASY GROW GRASSES

Ornamental grasses easy to grow
Bring containers inside for fall colour
By Gerald Filipski
Edmonton Journal May 21, 2013  

I have been getting a few requests to repeat a column that ran a few years ago on grasses. It seems more and more gardeners are discovering the joys of maintenance-free gardening that grasses can offer.

Grasses are efficient, versatile and beautiful and can be used in many applications.

Containers

The right container can make or break a grass. If your grass is gold edged in green, a high gloss, black container will look great. If the grass is a rusty brown, a bright yellow container will do the trick. Choose from today’s wonderful variety of containers to best complement and contrast the grass. If you are going to bring the grasses indoors in the fall, choose a container that is light enough to transport. Many of the cast-resin types look like much heavier ceramic or terra cotta, but weigh a fraction of the real thing.

Decisions, decisions

Ornamental grasses come in a wide range of heights and colours that include shades of green, gold, brown, red, purple and white. They easily hold their own when it comes to landscape design; you won’t need to add anything else to achieve an appealing and very interesting container garden. A single tall grass in the background, with two or three medium-height grasses and three to five short varieties in front can turn a dull corner of a deck or balcony into a thing of beauty.

Care and feeding

These undemanding plants prefer a well-drained, good-quality potting soil, with no need to fertilize during the first year of growth. After the first year you can add some slow-release fertilizer pellets made for containers. This way, each time you water the plant gets fertilized. The pellets can last for up to three monthst. Grasses like to be watered on a regular basis, but many are drought tolerant and can go for longer without water— sometimes a couple of days, or longer if they are not in direct sun — than most annuals.

In the fall, it’s easy to bring your grass arrangement inside and enjoy it right through the winter.

Try some of these newer varieties of grass in your containers:

Golden Japanese forest grass (hakonechloa macra Aureola): Leaves bright yellow with narrow green stripes. Full sun to part shade. This spectacular plant has a habit of cascading over the sides of a container. 35 cm tall, 41 cm wide.

Carex Prairie Fire: Partial to full shade. Leaves green/bronze that erupt into a gorgeous red colour. Upright growth and an excellent container plant. 30 — 46 cm high and wide.

Carex Bronco: Leaves medium-brown/bronze. Habit is a cascading one. Full sun. 25 cm tall, 35 cm wide.

Festuca glauca Boulder Blue (Boulder Blue fescue): Spiky, clump-forming habit. One of the bluest grasses on the market. Striking in a dark black pot. 15 — 30 cm high and wide.

Calamagrostis x acutiflora Karl Foerster (Karl Foerster Reed Grass): My favourite background grass; leaves are green, often turning tan in fall. Plumes of rose-coloured flowers rise above foliage in midsummer, carrying tan seed heads from late summer through late winter. You can leave the seed heads on when bringing indoors, or cut them off. Grows to 1.5 m tall and 76 cm in width, but it won’t get that large in a container.