Common Name : Grass, ornamental

Latin Name : varied

Description : Ornamental grasses provide a great year-around display. They are just catching on in our area, and more grasses that we suspected are working. Perhaps the prairie is more hospitable for grasses than the warmer woodlands to the south.

It is important to leave the grasses standing in the winter, not only to gather the snow around the base, but also to gain the aesthetic benefit of the beautiful fronds of grass. Cut the old foliage back on the first warm day of spring.

“Karl Foerster,” very vertical. 4-5 feet wheat colored. It seems to be the best grass for the heavy soils. Has come back every winter for us, so far. It is the most formal and dignified of the ornamental grasses.

Miscanthus (“Flame Grass”) forms gracefully drooping white plumes which almost sparkle in the sunshine in the winter. Miscanthus has not been as reliable as the Karl Foerster. One cluster will die out, another will survive. Miscanthus sometimes can die out in the middle, which points towards the fact that they might benefit from frequent division.

Blue Oat Grass stays confined in a clump, and is planted more for its foliage than the seed heads. The stringy, tough blue foliage forms an upright tuft which grows to 18 inches. The silvery foliage of the Blue Oat Grass is a clue that it prefers sunshine and dry.

Panicum is a tall, airy blue foliaged grass which is not as immediately striking as other varieties, but cherished by those with more subtle tastes.

The menu of grasses is likely to expand. Their toughness and winter beauty seem to insure that they will become a staple in the northern yard.