Gardens
Waving in the Wind
Ornamental grasses prove they can live long and prosper — in drought and in snow.

Plants are an investment, and every gardener must know which ones will survive and even thrive in their climate. Ornamental grasses make it easy — a person would have to possess quite a black thumb in order to actually kill them. The practicality of these gorgeous plants is what makes them so popular: They fill in empty areas of the garden, provide interest to the yard all year long and flourish effortlessly. There are hundreds of ornamental grasses putting on a show with their waving plumes and textural intrigue, and with their palette of colors, they are true showstoppers. The gift of these enormous grasses to the garden is in their rhythm and movement; their constantly changing form and shapes, from erect to arching; and their ever-evolving colors, from green in the spring to colorful plumes in the fall to the golden wheat color they don in the winter.

They are such adaptable plants that most of them will prosper in any soil condition, and neither drought nor flood will deter these large, lovely plants from acclimatizing and growing. In fact, a regional nursery performed an experiment a few summers ago when the sky never seemed to open with moisture. It wanted to test how drought-resistant grasses really are by not watering them.

The result? Every single switch grass that was planted survived and lives today. That is quite a testament to the large grass species. Here are some to consider for your own garden:

Maiden Grass
Paired with perennials, it makes a terrific screen from the wind or for privacy. Most maiden grasses are large and around 6 feet tall and 5 feet wide. Their plumes are anywhere from a salmon pink to white and are prolific in the autumn. In the winter, the entire grass turns a stunning golden tan and provides fantastic texture and form. ‘Gracillimus’ has a narrow blade with white vertical stripes running through it. Some cultivars with variegated leaves are zebra grass and porcupine grass, both of which have horizontal yellow bands across the foliage. ‘Autumn Red’ has a lovely red hue. “Maiden grass has a thin blade and is delicate looking,” says Jocelyn Hall, nursery sales manager at Suburban Lawn & Garden in Overland Park. “Its height raises your eyes in the garden, and it can also take a fair amount of shade, so it is a very adaptable grass.”



Tall Moor Grass
This slow-grower can take a few years for good foliage to thicken. It will send up to 7-foot-tall pencil-thin stems and have a girth of more than 3 feet wide. This is a magnificent grass to have with other plants because it is airy and does not mask the plants that surround it. In the autumn, its color turns rich gold. ‘Skyracer’ has 8-foot-tall butter yellow plumes. ‘Transparent’ will grow to be 6 feet tall, and its plumes appear to sparkle in the sunlight.



Switch Grass
This plant is native to North America. The switch grass variety is generally large, although there are some smaller cultivars. ‘Shenandoah’ makes a great hedge. It has plumes that reach 6 feet tall in midsummer, but the foliage truly is the show-stopper, turning deep burgundy in the fall. ‘Cloud Nine’ is a gray-green switch grass that contrasts with yellows in the garden.


Ravenna Grass
One of the largest grasses, it is generally about 12 feet tall and 7 feet wide. It requires some elbow room, to say the least. In autumn, plumes appear and grow about 2 feet long. They begin as a pink color in September but turn a silver hue for winter.

Dwarf Fountain Grass
This attractive grass is highlighted by fluffy, buff-colored plumes arching above foliage. Dark green tufted blades turn golden russet in the fall. “This is a shorter grass with a fuzzy plume,” Jocelyn states. “It is a lovely small grass that looks great with shrub roses, both of which are very popular.”


Japanese Blood Grass
This is a red-tipped, upright ornamental grass that becomes increasingly red as the season progresses and is blood red by autumn. Blood grass will grow to 18 inches and prefers well-drained soil and never having “wet winter feet.”



Horsetail Reed
A unique and different grass from the others mentioned, the horsetail reed is an ancient grass dating back to the Paleozoic era. It has slender stems that are hollow and jointed, similar to bamboo, and a clump of stems together creates its bushy look. The grass grows very well along the borders of water features.


If reading about the size of some of these larger grasses makes you a little queasy at the thought of such enormous specimens, do not despair because when they get too bulky, simply dig up a clump and share with a fellow gardener. Their roots are tough, so you’ll need a sharp instrument like a saw or axe to divide them. The best time to divide or plant tall grasses into the landscape is in the spring, but they can withstand being sowed into the earth at any time of year.

The seed heads, plumes and foliage appeal to most gardeners for their vertical interest and are usually left untouched throughout the winter. “They look amazingly gorgeous with snow and frost on their blades, and really, anything to provide some winter texture and height is great,” Jocelyn comments.

In the spring, they do need to be cut down to make room for new growth. Wear gloves and a long-sleeved shirt because the blades can nick and slice skin. Large- species grasses are easiest to cut when you tie them up in a group and cut about 5 inches above the earth. But when this task is accomplished, you should have a great arrangement of dried plumes to bring inside and display in a large urn or vase.