Lately, the lyrics from “Turn, Turn, Turn,” the 1960s song by The Byrds, have been floating around in my head. ‘To everything-turn, turn, turn. There is a season – turn, turn, turn. And a time to every purpose under heaven.”
I believe the term is “earworm,” and now I am passing it along. “A time to be born, a time to die. A time to plant, a time to reap. A time to kill, a time to heal. A time to laugh, a time to weep.”
For ornamental grasses, this is the season! This fall is a spectacular time for a plethora of trees and shrubs, but it seems like ornamental grasses look particularly fantastic this year. The following are a few ornamental grasses that you may want to consider planting in your yard.
Big Bluestem, Andropogon g. ‘Red October’
The name says it all; the foliage ages from deep green with burgundy tips in spring to fiery red stems and leaves by October. It has great winter interest as well. It is very tolerant of hot humid summers, drought, and poor soil. It will grow about 5-6 feet tall and spread 24 inches.
Blonde Ambition Blue Grama, Bouteloua gracilis, “Blonde Ambition’
The airy chartreuse flowers float horizontally amidst blue-green foliage mid-summer into fall. Blonde seed heads extend the season providing unique winter appeal. It grows 24-36 inches tall and wide.
Feather Reed Grass, Calamagrostis acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ This is a cool season, clump-forming grass that adds a nice vertical accent to the landscape. The glossy green foliage turns golden yellow in the fall. Plumes of burgundy tones age to wheat. It grows to 36” tall and wide.
Variegated Hakone, Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’
This cool season dwarf grass has slender stems that hold bright yellow foliage with thin green stripes. The green stripes flush red in the fall. Very graceful, cascading and flowing habit, gives the sense of a waterfall. It grows about 18” tall and wide.
Maiden Grass, Miscanthus sinensis ‘Adagio’
This is a fine textured, diminutive form of the Maiden grass family. The foliage is gray-green with distinctive white midribs and turns to a buff fall color. It has plumes of dark pink changing to white. It is a wonderful, warm season, clump-forming grass. It grows 30 inches tall and 24 inches wide.
Red Head Fountain Grass, Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Red Head’ This ‘Red Head’ will get all the attention in the garden! The green foliage reveals gold tones with cooler fall temperatures. It begins to show its huge, bottlebrush plumes in mid to late summer. The deep purple buds mature to long-lasting, smoky-purple plumes that can measure 3 inches wide by 8-10 inches long. It grows about 48 inches tall and wide.
Japanese Silver Grass, Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’
This very finely bladed, vase shaped grass brings the essence of light into the garden. It has very narrowly bladed gray-green foliage with white midrib that turns to an almond fall color. The plumes emerge reddish-bronze and change to white. It grows to about 60 inches tall and 36 inches wide.
Most ornamental grasses do best when planted in full sun and in a site that is well drained.
Kathleen Carr is the owner of The Growing Scene, Inc., a garden center and landscaping company. She can be reached by calling 815-923-7322 or kathleen@thegrowingscene.com Have a gardening question? Please contact her. She will address it in an upcoming column.
