Drool time!

I have question about the size of the grasses offered at Santa Rosa. This is my first year growing grasses so I am a bit ignorant about growth expectations. I have a garden area I planted this year and was thinking of seeing what it looks like for a whole season before I decide what to add and subtract from it. How large would these 4x4 plants be if I planted some in a holding area and then transplanted them next spring to a permanent area.
These prices seem very good if I know what my expectations should be. The selection is definitely better than I can find locally.

It will vary a great deal from grass to grass.

First, the plants will arrive in 4" grower's pots, which are really 3.5" square by about 3" deep. Some of them will be small plugs, 32-38 size, only recently moved from their liners to the pots. Others will have been in the pots for some time, and will even be pot-bound. The above-ground foliage will range from sparse and thin to tall and full. It depends greatly upon the variety of grass and how long they have been out of the liner and in the pot.

I generally either plant mine in nursery beds or pot them up to trade gallons, where they will spend from 1-3 full growing seasons before being planted out in display beds. Grasses tend to follow the same rule most perennials do:

First year they sleep.
Second year they creep.
Third year they leap.

Cool season grasses tend to mature faster than warm season grasses, but there can be further variations. You could put two copies of the same grass in a nursery bed, everything being equal...age, size etc., and one will grow faster than the other. I plan my display beds by walking through my nursery beds and pot collections, and selecting specific specimens to be transplanted. It's like shopping at the nursery, but much cheaper as long as you don't count your time in the equation.

I almost always pot up every plant I receive from mail order nurseries into trade gallons before planting out into the garden. Sometimes for only a few months, sometimes for a year.

My experience with Santa Rosa Gardens grasses on sale is that they are often overgrown and pot bound which is why they are on sale. :)

I've purchased from them several times and always have been very happy.

I can find a lot of grasses locally but not as many as they have especially in the smaller varieties.

I've ordered Pennisetum 'Penn Stripe' and 'Little Honey' mine both croaked over our terrible winter in a pot likely because I gave them haircuts in fall and they got crown rot...argh. I also order 'Fireworks' because I killed the two in my greenhouse by forgetting to water them. oops.

I placed my order yesterday for some grasses I know I cannot get locally. I got m.Arabesque, m.Malepartus, Muhlenbergia lindheieri, Muhlenbergia White Cloud, 3 Schizachyrium "Blue Heaven" and a few flowering perennials. I will pot these up in gallon pots using the potting mix recommended on this forum by Donn. This is my first attempt at this so it will be interesting and fun.

I put mine right in the ground and they did fine. I think it depends on watering and your work/lifestyle schedule. If your tendency will be to unavoidably let pots get too dry before you can get to them, putting them into the ground, that has been well prepared and nicely covered with mulch is safer and the roots will stay cooler. If you are in a position to really stay on top of it, pots would be fine but that means everyday watering at least once and often twice, no exceptions. Unless you are raising plants to sell or don't have your beds ready yet.

Unless a plant is just a tiny seedling, I always plant directly into the ground and always have with good results. Its just an individual thing and it seems more natural because to me, a plant in a pot is always unnatural.

A few hours in a pot with no water in summer can spell disaster. Especially in a hot summer area.

Just my thoughts. I find most grow better in the ground often times and the roots can spread as they want, less hassle, less moving. Small plants are easier to plant as well.

They just lowered some more grasses to $1.99. I dropped an order for 50x Pennisetum oriental 'Karley Rose' at that price. It's my favorite Fountain Grass; incredibly fast-growing, incredibly floriferous and long-blooming, and it works in full sun to part shade.

I didn't realize how big 'Karley Rose' gets until she grew huge in two seasons from a small pot from Santa Rosa. She was covered with blooms even in partial shade but blocking my husband from getting out of his work van. I'm replacing her in that spot with 'Penn Stripe' and stuck her in a big pot. Not sure where to plant her yet.

All my fountain grasses are really behind this year due to terrible cold wet spring. Doesn't seem to bother my Miscanthus though.

They surely do get wide, but not so tall.

Here's one I transplanted this spring:

The crown has a 20" diameter, and its full spread last season was 5', by 3' tall. The plant is only 6 years old.

All of these will go into pots for now...probably 2-3 gallon pots. When my new nursery beds are finished, this fall, I'll install socket pots for them, and keep them there for growing out.

Byorse,

You mention how late your grasses are. This is just a weird year. My SRG fall planted Panicum 'Northwind' and 'Heavy Metal" are all putting out culms and seed heads! Now the Little Bluestems are doing the same thing. We had an unusually hot, early dry spring and then a brief cold period and are now almost up to 100 under a heat dome. I have been watering since January regularly.

I keep expecting Rod Serling to appear in that "Twilight Zone" voice. Its just so strange. All these grasses are very thick and healthy and way further along that they should be for this time of year. The species type of Little Bluestems are over two feet tall and the culms now coming up are at least three and one half feet tall. Pretty, but strange.

Donn, is this weird or what? Ever heard of such a thing?

By the way, my Miscanthus seem to be on the same schedule as both yours and Donn's.

The P. 'Karley Rose', on the other hand, had reached its full height and was blooming at the time you shot that photo and posted it. I am now thinking it was early as well maybe. So I guess some grasses are more temperature sensitive than others. My P. 'Hamlyns' have not started blooming yet.

Seems to be a feast or famine kind of year. Everyone seemed to be getting rain and cold everywhere except us in the middle of the country. Felt like we hardly had a real spring here.

It's likely weather related CG. We had a cold and very wet spring, and all my grasses are behind last year, except for the cool season ones.

My Pennisetums all look like the photo of Donn's freshly transplanted 'Karley Rose' above, barely growing. Normally they look that way in March.

'Karley Rose' was in partial shade for me and grew approximately 3' tall and 5' wide in two years. Twice the size of my twelve or more year old P. orientales.

My order from Santa Rosa arrived today, in excellent condition. I got a shipping notice on Monday and they arrived on Wednesday. Awfully quick too. :)

My order arrived today, plants look good as usual.
{{gwi:222666}}

Gasp! no grasses!

"Gasp! no grasses!"

I'll make up for it:

50 brand new Pennisetum orientale 'Karley Rose' arrived in three boxes early yesterday evening. They're all perfect! Averaging 18" tall, and no broken foliage at all. Nice healthy root systems with only a few rootbound..surprising considering the time of year. The potting medium was still moist and the packing was flawless.

If you're on the fence about this grass, try it now at $1.99 each. It's a fantastic price for top quality plants.

Great job, SRG!!

My order of Pennisetum Alopecuroides arrived Friday in great shape. They were pretty good size, and weren't terribly root bound. Planted them last night just ahead of a cold front and nice rain. I can't wait to see them take off!

Hopefully the sale will still be on Friday when it's payday. There's several more grasses I'd like to try!

Donn, I just picked up two of the Karley Rose and two Pink Muhly's. Can pass them up at that price. Will the Karley's get too big to work in front of the Miscanthus I mentioned in my other post? I wanted to get the Mex Feather Grass too, but there were only 2 left in stock. I'd like to have 6 or so. I'll have to find them local.

OKG...do the arithmetic. If 'Zebrinus' reaches 6' in spread, and 'Karley Rose' 5' or more, that's 11' needed at maturity. Is the bed 11' wide?

lol buyorsell!
There's a Panicum virgatum Ruby Ribbons in there I swear!
Back row, second from the left!
I have just 6 or so grasses, most bought from Santa Rosa, every single one has done well with barely any extra care.
Including a Phalaris arundinacea Strawberries & Cream, which I later read can be invasive...boy is that thing growing fast, so far I LOVE it!
It went from a 3 inch pot to this in one year, last year. I haven't taken a picture of it this year.

Here is a link that might be useful: Strawberries & Cream

The widest part of the 'Zebrinus' will be significantly higher off the ground than the widest part of the 'Karley Rose.' If the 'Zebrinus' is perfectly formed, it's wide top will easily clear the top of the 'Karley Rose.'

The Miscanthus is not Zebrinus. I'm not sure what it is exactly. Thin, almost v-shaped blades with a white vein. I'm thinking Gracillimus or Morning Light maybe? It was marked when I bought it. Thus bed hasnt been made yet, so I have the luxury of making it as wide as I need.

I do have two Zebrinus that have yet to show any noticeable growth since I planted them almost a month ago. They do look healthy however. I'm hoping to do reach the max to fill up an empty corner.

'Gracillimus'
Height: 4 to 7 feet
Spread: 3 to 6 feet

'Morning Light'
Height: 4 to 6 feet
Spread: 2.5 to 4 feet

'Zebrinus'
Height: 5 to 8 feet
Spread: 4 to 6 feet

Note: In each case, the height listed includes ~2' of flowers above foliage height.

These numbers come from MOBOT, the Missouri Botanical Gardens, linked below. While their plant descriptions are closely tuned to the climate of St. Louis, their website is worth bookmarking for general reference.

Here is a link that might be useful: MOBOT PlantFinder

You are right, I see the grass now. LOL :)

Perhaps that ribbon grass won't be as invasive in your climate as it is in mine. I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole but I agree, it is really pretty.