'The Blues' Schizachyrium with Lambs Ear
Autumn is probably my favorite time of year to really enjoy ornamental grasses. And, by grasses I don’t mean lawn. I do mean ornamental grasses and grass-like plants such as sedges and rushes. Plants like blood grass are brilliant red and showy at this time. Seed heads on Miscanthus are shining and flowing in the breeze (and frost). Little tufts on bunny grasses hop along at the edges of borders. And, hairy carex shimmers, promising interest into the winter ahead.
Well, it promises interest if cared for properly. Too often, all ornamental grasses are treated the same by unknowning humans with scissoring tools in hand. This can cause permanent damage. So to help you wade your way through your grasses, here are some general guidelines. Of course, in each genus there may be exceptions to the rule, but these tips should help you avoid the big mistakes.
- True Grasses:
Miscanthus Seed Head Adorned with First Snow
True grasses have “elbows” or “joints” where the leaves run down the stems to the ground. They may be clumpers or spreaders, and they do well when cut down at the end of the season. What you define as “the end of the season” is your call. If you enjoy looking at seed heads swaying in the autumn sunlight, then you might wait until after a frost or until mid-winter to cut the plants down. If you are concerned about the plants spreading in the garden after forming and spreading their seed all winter, then you might cut them down earlier. Grasses like blood grass are easy to snip at individually to remove. Clumps of bunny grass are tight and with a sheet underneath are easy to shear and then pluck out brown old growth. Tall grasses like Miscanthus are best bundled tightly with string and then cut a few inches above the ground but below the tie. This way the bundle comes away in one bunch. Take care, these plants may have sharp edges.
- Sedges: Sedges have edges and no elbows. They are often mop-like and spreading. Generally, their seed heads aren’t showy.
Carex testacea intermingling with Euphorbia
They do not take kindly to being cut hard. Some will die back for winter. Most ornamental Carex, however, is an evergreen plant that should be combed and very lightly trimmed once or twice a year. I tend to comb mine out in mid-summer and again in fall or winter. After I comb out all the dead and stringy growth and remove any dead clumps, I then bundle the plant in my hands and trim off the dead ends, which should be around 2″ or so of the very tips. Its like giving the plant a little bob haircut. If the plant has been neglected for a long time, the center may be dieing out. In these cases, I dig out the plant to divide it and reinvigorate growth.
- Rushes: Honestly, I don’t do much with rushes. If they have dead growth, I remove those shoots to the ground. That’s about it.
Carex flagellifera with Lambs Ear
This is basic primer barely skims the surface of ornamental grass care. There are many, many more grasses to choose from and care for. Some are weedier than others. Some are sharper and harder to care for than others. And, many are just plain wonderful and not to be missed for their fantastic, unique forms, textures and colors they add to to the garden. If you aren’t sure which kind of grass plant you have or if you have one that isn’t specifically mentioned here, get in touch for a coaching session for hands on plant care training and identification sessions. Or consider picking up a copy of one of my favorite grass books such as Grasses:Versatile Partners for Uncommon Garden Design
(This topic was originally published in October 2008 and updated in September 2009.)
Read on for the tale of how shopping for vegie starts in the summer of 2007 resulted in the installation of a new waterfeature for our patio .
I knew I had a container at home that I wanted to renovate. Sure, 
it had drainage holes, but I knew I could seal those with clear caulk in no time. So, we selected a couple of 25% off water plants, snatched up the bargain spigot & pump & headed home. We figured we’d have a waterfeature running in no time. We should have known better!
We found a waterfall sealant foam spray that sets up in 1 hour and is sealed/hardened in 24 hours. After much digging through the electrical department, we were able to figure out how to put together, mount & seal a new outdoor plug & switch. (I say we, but mostly I mean Bob.) Of course, we had to buy a new drill bit to go with the electrical box and screws and washers as well. With all of this in hand, plus our BBQ racks, we checked out & headed home around 1 pm. (In case you can’t tell, the can of worms is wide open at this point.)
Day 1, Act 4: Minimal Cursing from Bob the Electrician: Right away, we fill the pot drainage holes with waterfall sealant. Its going to take 24 hours for that to be hardened and sealed. Between the drilling, rewiring, testing, and sealing, it takes Bob until around 4pm to get the electrical all set up so that we have power to the plug for the waterfeature. The lamp is now on an outdoor switch & the original “high up” plug is also charged. And, he managed this with very few 4 letter words.
Day 1, Act 5: Billy the Fish & Spot: All characters are exhausted at this point with no relaxing waterfeature to enjoy. So, we walk Shiloh to rent movies and stop at the pet shop to buy some goldfish for the new waterfeature. Goldfish are a great addition. They keep the waterfeature clean & they eat mosquito larvae!As I’m looking at the feeder fish (bargain priced at $.14/smalls & $.25/bigs), I think of the recent 
Day 2, Act 1: Filling & Testing: In the morning, we set up the container in its location and begin placing containers & stones in the pot on which we will rest plants and decorative rock. In the early afternoon, we fill the container with water and insert the 
And, we released the fish. Also, I had some Acorus in the garden beds, which I dug & planted in the water garden after reading it does well in these spaces. (That was another can of worms as I found about a trash container of roofing material left from our roofers last year hidden in this planting bed – yuck!). 
We are still doing some fine tuning, but we were able to relax on the patio with iced tea and beer and listen to our new waterfeature. We’re both happy with it & I’m glad Bob was still smiling at the end!
