Ornamental grains in questions and answers
The muesli fashion came to us from Europe and stayed for a long time. Probably because ornamental grasses are very close to our traditional landscape. But one thing – grasses in the fields, another – in flower beds. Many questions arise. Tatyana Terentyevna Zheltovskaya, a recognized expert on grasses, answers for you.
The fashion for ornamental grasses did not appear for nothing, because they are very diverse and decorate our gardens
Why granola in the garden?
The fashion for ornamental cereals appeared in recent years. And why are there cereal plants in the compositions? The muesli fashion came about for a reason. It’s even strange that there were so few ornamental grasses in gardens. They enliven our floral compositions, give them a naturalness and dynamism. In natural flower gardens, which are now so popular, it is difficult to do without ornamental grasses in general. Their role in the garden is diverse.
Low grasses can be used as a border flooring. High – to create large arrays, screens. Of them you can make bright color accents, you can effectively solo.
Muesli enliven floral compositions, give them naturalness and dynamics
Water gardens, the shores of garden ponds, like me, would be completely unnatural without muesli herbs, which will diversify and beautify our gardens. Blue oat leaves, graceful bumps and unusual sultanas of Chinese shells, the most interesting blooms of gray prostrich and wolfsbane are exceptionally eye-catching.
If you want, you can find suitable grasses for any small garden. Only you should try to choose those that are stable in their conditions.
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What cereals can grow in the shade?
What about muesli and sagebrush? Can you guess a shade garden? Very. Suckers: Morrow, culinary banana, Rusty, ‘Variegata’ (very spectacular in the shade), musk (and its varieties). Zlaki: Brei t-Alle’s prayer Hasmantium (only yellows in the fall), ‘Variegata’ soft rutabaga kar for a light shade spot, Boro – ‘aureum’ diluted (I generally recommend this one for shade and call it ‘sun in the shade’).
‘Segge Morrow’ grows beautifully in the penumbra. Photo by Mikhail Polelov.
Yes, and the same canary cable (except ‘Aurea’) – it keeps its variegation longer in the shade. Under the shade-tolerant you can pick cereals and different heights, and different degrees of growth.
What is the best way to plant a Chinese bowl?
Can I plant three divisions from Miscantus “Malepartus” in a triangle so that they quickly form a large bump? Or is it better to plant individually one after another? Miscanthus chinensis ‘Malepartus’ grows well. After 3-4 years, its top will be about one meter in diameter. If you need several identical shells, plant the miscanthus at a distance of 80-110 cm. If you want to achieve the effect as quickly as possible, plant two roots of the so-called bouquet in the planting hole. You can also plant all three plants together, but this is already a debauchery. Check whether they need to be fed and watered for three.
If you grow separately, of course, after a while you can remove one or two plants if one turns out to be superfluous. But if you plant in a bouquet, it’s for good. The roots there are intertwined in such a way that it will not be possible to divide it painlessly. If necessary, cut off a piece from one edge.
How can you limit the aggressive grain?
Is there a universal rule for limiting aggressors? There are no general rules, it is necessary to approach each system individually. For example, in reeds the roots go deeper than 60 cm, and in soft haulm – only 10 cm. Of course, different widths are needed for a bounding strip. And sugarcane can spread its roots over the surface and even “jump” a low fence. And this should also be taken into account.
All grasses grow differently and require an individual approach
How do grasses grow?
How do you recognize which is spreading underground and which above ground? Does it have something to do with whether it’s growing a bump or something else? In ornamental grasses that form a rump, the branches of the shoots are carried out at the base, there is what is called the smoke zone. The bumps can be more or less different: Oi Towns, oats, pondweed reaper, molinia, pikegrass, polyleaf sedge, Chinese knapweed. It’s usually well visible, and the old dense lawn often forms bumps that are even defended from the ground. You have to fear being attacked.
Many sedges grow with bumps, but there are active species among them.
Some mussel-grasses have shoots that go sideways and heart zones that form at a greater or lesser distance from the main system. Typical representatives of such pulverizing grasses are sugarcane palchatocorynum, water mannik, canary canegrass, and ruderal. Perennial sedges. I find it necessary to be mindful of these plants and to limit their spread by various methods.
What annual grasses can be planted in the garden?
What annual grasses do you recommend? How do you use them in the garden?
Annual grasses can be sown in flower mixes, planted in seedlings or directly in the chosen place in the flower bed. I recommend that you try hellebore barley (Hordeum jubat).
Grievous barley supported by Rose Sibu.
This muesli is naturally perennial, but behaves more like a young one. It is so unpretentious that it is now found in the most unexpected places on railroad tracks and roadsides as a self-imposed piece. It does not need to be sown in seedlings, it can be eaten immediately in the garden in its chosen location.
The plant grows quickly, grows up to 50 cm, in the first year after sowing it forms a good flowering curtain. Since by the end of the season, the leaves and stems may fall off from rain and wind, it is good to choose a place between bushes. It looks especially good against a background of red-tipped shrubs. Gryvasty Gerste is a very spectacular muesli that can be found in the garden in the garden.
Anyone who once plants this spectacular muesli in their garden is sure to find more and more uses for it.
How can Hasonia overwinter in the suburbs?
Do you have hasonia? Does it winter and grow normally?
Yes, I have two species of hasonia. I can’t say that they grow very healthy and fast, but they live. They are not afraid of excessive moisture. In winter I protect them in the same way I protect Chinese shells, because they belong to winter hardiness zones 5 and 6.
What kind of grains can you substitute for hason?
What kind of stable muesli or stable muesli or habitus, like Hasonoles, so that the plant doesn’t “stick out” but sort of lies down? For myself, I considered the sails of the hybrid beatles in the photos. The Beatles hybrid sedge
Each cereal looks unique in its own way, and it is often difficult to find a replacement. I don’t think this sedge and hazonehlo are very similar in appearance. But our hason e-halog grows. It may not always be the color you expect, and it doesn’t grow as fast as you’d like. But gardeners, for the most part, are patient people.
As for the sedge “Beatles”, in our country it is quite winter-hardy, can withstand temporary flooding. But in wet places grows badly. Plant it in drier conditions with controlled watering.
Is it worth using aggressive grasses in compositions?
Which perennial crops can be safely planted in flower beds, and which are too aggressive for mixed gardens? Planting perennial ornamental grasses in flower beds, it is necessary to more or less intelligently select them for your garden. Crops that form mounds (molinia, rockweed, millet, ornamentals ostricolor, fescue, fescue and other marestail) can be planted without fear – they will not spread. But pike gives a powerful tipper and can be blighted. Therefore, the place around them is better to mulch, this will deter the emergence of new shoots.
In flower beds you can use a variety of crops. The main thing is to find a suitable place for them and plant them correctly.
Some cultures are quite aggressive, especially if they like the growing conditions. They should be treated with caution. But you should not completely abandon aggressive plants. If you really like such a cereal and want to plant it, you need to do it competently and just find a suitable place for it.
As a cover for the path, you can use such an attacker as canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea), which reliably limits the planting site. Sandy loosestrife (Leymus Arenarius) is best planted in containers at least 40 cm deep. At the same time, every two years you need to remove excess roots and fill the container with fresh soil.
Canary canary or Phalyaris can be used as groundcover plants, limiting the space of the plot. Photo by Mikhail Polelov
The long-rooted mannik (Gliceria maxima ‘variegata)) is extremely effective. It is very fond of water, not without reason its other name – water mannik. Therefore, it can be planted in a large container and lowered to a depth of 20 centimeters into a body of water. Or plant it along the underside of the pond – the bank of the pond will serve as a natural barrier for it.
Sulphidium Iacchariflorus is notorious. But in a spacious garden to create a large fair it is hard to find a replacement. And how spectacular it looks in winter, what a decoration of the winter garden it is!
Miscanthus sugar flower in winter.
Of course, it must be securely confined, but the effect of its powerful foliage, magnificent sultans of flowers will be worth the effort and time spent. But the southern reed “Aurea” (Phragmites australis), which is very spectacular, is better planted in very deep containers.
Which cereals are suitable for a wet plot?
More often than not, cereals are associated with the field or prairie. Will any of them grow in a wet area? Most grasses are versatile, the same species and variety can live in different conditions. Very common in the fields is medium sagebrush (B Riza Media), which grows well in wet areas.
Medium sagebrush grows beautifully in wet places r
Our meadows are not without the soft pike. But now it is a welcome guest in our gardens in the lowest places. And Molia is really a plant for anywhere, wet and dry, acidic and alkaline floors. It grows everywhere, and if a little care is taken, it quickly forms a decent bump that is good in the foreground, and as an accent in any flower bed, and in a rather damp spot in the garden.
Soda sow can live in very damp places
Many rutabagas can live in other conditions as well, such as the sage seed sherinet and forms a perfectly decorative, lush bump. It is settled both flooded places, and completely dry, where it is in the natural moisture. And there are many such examples.
What plants can and can not be combined with cereals?
Please tell us about successful and unsuccessful combinations of cereals with other plants. We can talk about combinations of plants endlessly. After several years of using ornamental grasses in the garden, my general approach is as follows: There is a bunting cereal – easy to grow and combines with almost all plants, for example, saddleria blue. I plant it wherever I need to cover any imperfections.
Combine the cereal with other plants can be endless, and here much depends on the taste of the gardener himself.
In general, all gray-blue grasses are well combined with plantings blooming pink, purple, blue flowers. When planting green grasses among other plants, the color and shape of the panicles must be considered. At the same time, in another gardener they can cause rejection. Everything is individual, and we create a garden for ourselves. I have had many failures. For example, I planted a Gildschleier pike under a Rosa no t-chronic rose with yellow stamens. The pike bloomed a similar golden yellow color. I didn’t like it very much. It seemed that this golden color did not match the pink. I had to remove it.
In a magazine I spied a composition of gray-blue grains with yellow roses. It was possible to reproduce the recommendations close enough. But I did not like this combination in person. I recall my undeniable good fortune to plant sesleria under an apple tree as a groundcover. Growing for several years, I do not intend to change. I think of the undeniable success of planting Cecleria under an apple tree as a groundcover plant.
When planting, I try to maintain routes so that over time all the space between the plants is covered. There is nothing new about planting perennials. You just need to know how a particular perennial grows on your plot. In general, I prefer dense plantings, so sometimes I plant two mounds and know in advance when one mound will grow and transplant the other.
How to grow ornamental grasses. Everything you need to know about growing ornamental grasses in your garden
Make a hole about twice as wide as the pot with the plant itself. Place the system in the hole so that the base is on the floor. Carefully loosen and distribute any roots that have developed around the plant. Feed with compost, water the soil, water and mulch to retain moisture and get nutrients.
Recommended varieties.
In the cold season (these perennials start growing in early spring when temperatures are cool), you can plant these grasses: blue fescue, blue fescue, Peri-Pierce spring grass.
Warm season (these perennials grow best in summer and tolerate hard frosts) These: Little Bluestem, switch grass, Japanese wind grass.
Annuals/perennials (they need to be planted every year, although some survive warmer climates after winter): fountain pelea, purple millet, and fountain fountain.
How to care for ornamental grasses
Herbs are usually pretty hardy, but in recent years new plants have been watered to establish healthy roots. Like most perennials, they don’t usually grow the first year, usually reaching their fourth growth before their third season on the ground. Once they have grown, they are fairly drought tolerant and tolerate it just fine.
Do ornamental grasses need to be restored?
Absolutely. If you don’t, rat tails usually become similar to each other. In early spring, cut back cool-season herbs, bracing dead leaves or cutting the entire plant about four inches above the crown or base of the plant. Cut warm season herbs in late winter or early spring if you prefer to leave the seeds in place to create a winter fairy tale in your garden.
When should you divide ornamental grasses?
If your grass is too big for its place, when the middle of the bunch looks dead or the plant is pliable and stretching all over the place, it’s probably time to divide your plants. Instead of trying to dig everything out, use a shovel to dig out the grass on the outside and cut off small sections on the outside parts. Replace the parts elsewhere. It’s best to do this before the active plant growth cycle begins. That is, early spring for cool-season grasses and late spring for warm-season grasses.
Can I grow ornamental grasses from seed?
Yes, it’s cheaper than buying ready-made plants. But it will take several years to create a large and abundantly flowering herb that will provide many visual effects in your garden.
Alla the author of the article
