Page 14 - Griffin Gazette Issue 1 - 2018

Make More Green

with Ornamental Grasses

By Beth Engle, Assistant Product Business Manager
If your ideas about ornamental grasses start and end with Purple
Fountain Grass, a whole other world is out there just waiting
for you to explore it! And it’s not too late: Now is a great time to
bring in your warm-season grasses, as they really don’t break
dormancy and start growing until March or April, depending on
your location.
You can have a full perennial (and annual) program of ornamental
grasses alone – many savvy growers and garden centers do!
Consider expanding your palette of the grasses for both your
monoculture containers as well as your mixed containers. Just
because a plant is considered perennial doesn’t mean it can’t
be used in mixed containers or treated like an annual. Recent
market research indicates that consumers often don’t care as
much about “perennial” and “annual” designations as we think
they do, so don’t let those limit your creativity here.

Aureola hakonechloa from
Walters Gardens

Bandwidth
miscanthus from
Emerald Coast
Growers

Need a “thriller” for the center of a mixed container? Here are
some fantastic options. They may or may not flower in containers,
Bonus Digital Content but they’ll add texture and color interest as the seasons change,
and the plants change with the seasons.