Low maintenance grasses

17 years ago

Not being that knowledgeable about ornamental grasses can anyone tell me what grasses are high maintenance?

I am sure there might be a few that require more care than others but as a whole aren't most all OG's somewhat low maintenance ??

donn, you and John (Blakeman I believe it is) can attest to this question more so than I can .... which grasses are more than low maintenance ?

What Ornamental Grasses require dead heading so new blooms can shine and radiate the garden,

What Ornamental Grasses require the trimming back of spent foliage,

What Ornamental Grasses require cutting everything back in the fall to eliminate the ugly winter sight,

What Ornamental Grasses require fertilizing during the growing season,

What Ornamental Grasses require watering on a regular bases (depending on the plants characteristics)

What Ornamental Grasses require constantly weeding so the "flowers" can be seen in their entire glory,

What Ornamental Grasses require digging them up every other year to split the bulbs or roots so the plants look well kept

Holy banana split !!!??!! It reads like I was talking about perennial and annual flowers and not ornamental grasses!!! DUH !!!!

Ornamental grasses as I have seen and grown seem to be very low maintenance in our gardens. Yes we do need to split them every few years.

Yes we do trim them back in the spring (that's where we 2 pickup loads of grass fronds that are tied and bundled for easier handling).

We never fertilize, we water on occassion once established, we weed if and only when we see some amazon weed trying to take over the grass beds.

Okay so i am not the expert that I thought I could become in the growing of ornamental grasses but I still can't quite get the idea that OG's are heavy maintenance plants.

Maybe I need to address this issue without the foggy mind set to get a clearer picture of what OG's are all about.

That ain't gonna happen folks. I've invested time, talent and materials to perfect what we've got growing here. It works for us so why break it if it works.

Thanks everyone I think I got itfigured it out .... there really are people out there who have less knowledge than I do in the ornamental grass field.

GOD bless them, as I hope they too can find the answer they are looking for, and when they do find that answer they get a ticket on the grass bus and can ride free and forever around the Happy Grassland.

Grey Goose UP, one olive please !!

Jake

PS .... just thought I would ask the question what ornamental grass (or grasses) requires really heavy maintenance ??

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Comments (2)

donn_
17 years ago
There are actually lots of ornamental grasses which require more maintenance than the annual haircut.

The first group that comes to mind is the heavy self-seeders. Things like Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Moudry,' Muhlenbergia capillaris, Eragrostis spectabilis, Chasmanthium latifolium, Luzula nivea and Setaria faberi. These all present the gardener with 2 clear choices. Either deadhead before the seeds ripen, or face a long and tedious bout of scratching out their children. In warmer climates than mine, there are far more of these, including species Miscanthus, Panicum, Cortaderia and more.

Another group which comes to mind would be low-growing groundcover type ornamental grasses, like Anthoxanthum odoratum, Briza media and Sesleria caerulea. These need regular weeding, because all sorts of weed seeds will germinate under them and grow up through them. My most problem weed in these grasses is Wood Sorrel. I'll bet I pull and compost 3 cubic yards of this critter every year, and a large portion of it grows in and amongst ornamental grasses. It even afflicts larger grasses. Mulch and deep shade? Pshaw! It thrives. I've pulled foot-high plants out of the middle of Miscanthus clumps.

Then, of course, there is the category of weather inflicted injury of ornamental grasses. I'm sure I'm not alone in this. A high-wind frog-strangler can really lay an ornamental grass low, no matter how erect it's habit. I'm in a humid coastal climate, with constant wind and frequent heavy t-storms. This means anything over 1 foot tall is apt to be affected, grasses and other ornamentals. I had a wind-pruned deadhead taken out of a Locust tree and deposited on a large mature clump of Chasmanthium the other day. I had to trim out the broken bits, and tie the rest of it up.

Yes, fortunately, ornamental grasses are not as maintenance free as some would claim. Fortunately, because it causes us to get up close and personal with our grasses more than once a year, which can do nothing but benefit both us and our grasses.
jake
Original Author
17 years ago
Now the issue that comes to my mind is the zone(s) in which all these high maintenance practices become part of the care and feeding of ornamental grasses.

As you have stated in your BIO you are in Z7 therefore you might have a longer growing season and / or a more moderate winter thus causing many of the issues you posted.

True I do not have all the grasses that you listed in your response however in my Z4b-5 gardens and the grasses that I might have from your list do not seem to be of the high maintenance caliber as you stated.

Life in the grass lane. Thanks donn for your reply and the information that has made me a wiser and more knowledgeable grass lover.

There never seems to be a post or response contributed by you that doesnÂt enlighten my mind.

Jake
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