Fall Spotlight on Ornamental Grasses

By Barbara Lindholm

Dekalb County Master Gardener

If you are an ornamental grass you need to practice the fine art of patience. While summer gardens are full of blooming flowers, ornamental grasses remain in the background of the garden, quietly and discreetly, growing and waiting their turn. In late August and early September, the role reversal begins. Summer flowering plants are winding down. The time has come for fall blooming plants and ornamental grasses to step into the spotlight.

Ornamental grasses are easy to care for in your garden. They are low maintenance plants that are capable of surviving a variety of growing conditions from prairie sun to deep woodland shade. It is beneficial to the grasses to be planted in the spring so that they will have the entire summer to establish a good root system, crown and seed formation before the winter. When this is not possible, they can be planted in the summer and fall up until October 1^st in our area. Grasses need to be cut back hard in the spring to make room for the new shoots. Grass clumps should be divided every three or four years and more often for the very aggressive varieties.

Incorporating ornamental grasses into your home landscape design is not difficult, but it does require advance planning. Grasses grow in a variety of sizes, shapes, colors and textures. Their size range varies from a foot tall to 12 feet and over. You need to understand the ultimate size of your plant before you plant it in your garden. Most. smaller grasses are very effective as groundcovers. The larger grasses make excellent anchor plants and provide dramatic vertical accent.

Japanese Blood Grass, Blue-eyed Grass and Blue Fescue are all examples of small perennial grasses. Japanese Blood Grass displays a brilliant, red fall color but is only marginally hardy in our area and requires a sheltered location and winter protection. All season long, Blue-eyed Grass carries small, blue flowers with yellow centers. Blue Fescue displays a soft, blue-green foliage. Be sure to not plant this grass too deeply or mulch it too heavily.

In the medium size grass category, there are three grasses frequently seen in our area gardens. Karl Forester Feather Reedgrass is easy to grow, blooms in June and carries its attractive seedheads through the fall and winter. Prairie Dropseed Grass has a delicate appearance but is extremely hardy and features golden, yellow fall color Panicum Switchgrass offers a soft, natural look and blends well with fall flowering plants.

Giant Miscanthus and Pampas Grass successfully grow in Illinois and provide large grass interest to your garden. Giant Miscanthus can grow to a dramatic 12 feet and will need to be controlled through frequent division. Pampas Grass is an annual grass in our area but still remains popular as it displays huge, white plumes equally valued for use in the landscape and for dried flower arrangements.

Plant some grasses and see their graceful movement through all the different seasons. Enjoy their beauty in the fall as they light up when the late afternoon sun shines on them. In the winter, from the inside comfort of your home, look out on the frosted seedheads and spikes of grass. Remember, also, that these grasses will provide food and shelter for birds and small animals.

By planting some of these grasses in our home landscape, we can return, at least in part, to a time in history when Illinois was covered with prairie grasses.

If you have questions or comments about this article, home gardening or about the Master Gardener program, call the Master Gardeners, c/o University of Illinois Extension, DeKalb County office at (815) 758-8194 or e-mail Dekalb_mg@extension.uiuc.edu.