People are familiar with using grass in their yard for ground cover and turf, but people often do not consider adding ornamental grasses to their landscape. Ornamental grasses have a lot to offer. This blog will cover why we recommend you plant ornamental grass, tips for how to maintain them, and grass recommendations. In no time, you will be a grass expert.
Top Reasons to Plant Grass
1. Fall and Winter Interest: Grasses thrive in the latter part of the year when other plants have gone beyond their peak. By the fall and winter, grasses have reached their full size for the year. Some of them have a really nice fall color. In winter, they add great texture to landscapes, particularly when their plumes are blanketed in fresh snow.
2. Drought Tolerant: Some plants require constant watering, but not grasses! That being said, they still need watered (which we will cover later), but overall, the majority of ornamental grass are pretty hardy and self-sufficient.
3. Easy to Maintain: The nice thing about ornamental grasses is that you only need to trim them once a year unlike some plants that need consistent maintenance. They are not like turf grass which has to be mowed. Low-maintenance plants that look good sound too good to be true, but these ornamental grasses live up to the hype.
4. They are Pretty: We will just let the photos speak for themselves here!
5. Varieties: Ornamental grasses come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and colors. They can be green, purple, blue, yellow, variegated, tall, short, thick, thin, etc. If there are some open spaces in your landscape, there is surely a grass that will fit perfectly in it.
Grass Tips
Here is all you need to know about growing and maintaining ornamental grasses.
Planting: The best time to plant grasses is either in the fall (September through October) or spring (mid-March to late May).
Watering: Most grasses are drought tolerant. They do not need much water, and make sure not to over-water them. The only critical time of year to water them is right before winter. They need to be well-watered going into winter to avoid winter desiccation.
Trimming/Cutting: Because ornamental grasses add nice winter interest, you can leave them uncut for winter. When spring rolls around, you should cut them back to about six inches. This will help the grasses generate new growth and come back fuller than the previous year.
Divisions: If you already have fully-grown grasses, you can divide them and replant them. Check out our divisions blog to learn how to properly divide your grass. Divisions Guide
Our Favorites
We have highlighted a few of our favorite grasses below just for you! And yes, all of our pictures were taken from our nursery if you were wondering.
1. Adagio Maiden Grass
2. Blonde Ambition Blue Grama Grass
3. Shenandoah Switch Grass
4. The Blues Little Bluestem Grass
5. Hameln Dwarf Fountain Grass
Learn More About Plants From Us!
We may be a wholesale grower, but our staff are experts in the field. What’s more, is we love helping people learn more and understand more about plants. We grow healthy plants, and we want our plants (and any plants really) to be successful in the landscapes they are planted in. Feel free to email us at sales@lomavistanursery.com or call us at (785) 229-7200 if you ever have plant-related questions.
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