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Can i plant ornamental grass in the fall


10 Ornamental Grasses to Plant This Fall

Prized for their featherlike textures, billowing silhouettes and delicate seed heads, ornamental grasses can be stars of autumn gardens. We’ve taken a bit of liberty with the term “grasses” here. Botanically speaking, a true grass falls under the Poaceae family and includes cereal grains, prairie and pasture grasses, grasses we typically plant as turf and even bamboos. They all share a handful of distinguishing characteristics, such as hollow stems interspersed with solid nodes for structural support.

For garden design, we casually group all grasslike plants along with the official grasses since they are largely used for the same function in the garden. Here, we’ve rounded up some of the most useful grasses, fescues and sedges, all with particularly beautiful forms, colors and textures in the garden.

Adam Woodruff LLC

Warm-season versus cool-season grasses. Horticulturists will further categorize grasses into “warm-season grasses” and “cool-season grasses,” depending on their growth cycle.

Cool-season grasses (such as Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’, fescues and Nassela spp.) begin their growth in early spring, come into their own in early summer and slow their growth, brown-out or set seeds once temperatures climb in midsummer.

Warm-season grasses (such as Hakonechloa spp., Muhlenbergia spp. and Pennisetum spp.) usually take a year or two to grow slowly and put their effort into root systems. Once established, they often stay fairly small throughout spring and summer with a good show by mid-to-late summer that lasts well into fall.

Arterra Landscape Architects

Cool-season ‘Elijah Blue’ blue fescue (Festuca glauca ‘Elijah Blue’) and ‘Karl Foerster’ feather reed grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’) work well planted together in this San Francisco garden.

What to plant this fall. Both warm-season and cool-season grasses can be planted in the fall for garden interest. Warm-season grasses put on the most stunning autumn show, but be sure to pick up gallon-size plants at the nursery if you’d like to appreciate them the first year of planting.

Cool-season grasses should be planted early in the fall, before plants enter full dormancy. Choose cool-season grasses that are more mature plants, those with eye-catching seed heads and ones with an attractive dormant state.

Adam Woodruff LLC

10 Ornamental Grasses to Plant Now

1. ‘Shenandoah’ Switchgrass
(Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’)

Native to American tall-grass prairies, switchgrasses can be fairly drought-tolerant once established and able to withstand long periods with little moisture. Reaching 3 to 4 feet tall at maturity, ‘Shenandoah’ is a good choice for the back of borders or in meadow plantings. A warm-season grass, ‘Shenandoah’ emerges a soft blue-green in spring, with the tips deepening from pink to burgundy in summer and to a deep claret by midautumn.

Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 31.7 degrees Celsius (USDA zones 4 to 9; find your zone)
Water requirement: Moderate; low once established
Light requirement: Part sun to full sun

See how to grow ‘Shenandoah’ switchgrass

Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture

2. New Zealand Wind Grass
(Anemanthele lessoniana)

A great filler for borders, underplanting for trees and addition to fall perennial gardens, New Zealand wind grass is a versatile cool-season ornamental grass with striking color. The arching foliage changes from green-gold to bronze in fall, deepening to orange-brown in winter. The plant has a mounding form 3 to 4 feet tall and wide.

Where it will grow: Hardy to 15 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 9. 4 degrees Celsius (zones 8 to 10)
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun to part shade

See how to grow New Zealand wind grass

Huettl Landscape Architecture

3. ‘Elijah Blue’ Blue Fescue
(Festuca glauca ‘Elijah Blue’)

This cool-season grass is favored for its silvery blue color and well-behaved mounding habit. Plant ‘Elijah Blue’ in swaths to give the impression of silver streams running through the garden, or arrange it in a geometric pattern for a contemporary look. Plants grow relatively quickly to 8 to 12 inches tall and wide, and form neat mounds.

Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 31.7 degrees Celsius (zones 4 to 8)
Water requirement: Moderate; low once established
Light requirement: Full sun

See how to grow blue fescue

Bliss Garden Design, LLC

4. ‘Blonde Ambition’ Blue Grama Grass
(Bouteloua gracilis ‘Blonde Ambition’)

The faintest breeze will cause the horizontal seed heads of ‘Blonde Ambition’ to quiver on the ends of stiff 3-foot-tall stems. This warm-season grass is a good choice for low-maintenance gardens, as it requires little care, is drought-tolerant once established and hangs on to its seed heads well into winter, providing many months of garden interest.

Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 31.7 degrees Celsius (zones 4 to 9)
Water requirement: Moderate; low once established
Light requirement: Full sun to part shade

See how to grow blue grama grass

Andrew Keys

5. Pink Muhly Grass
(Muhlenbergia capillaris)

Planted en masse or in small groups throughout the garden, pink muhly grass creates a shimmering pink haze with its diffuse seed heads. Native to central and eastern regions of the United States as well as Texas, this warm-season grass is fairly bulletproof in the garden. It’s noted to be drought-resistant and tolerant of poor drainage, and can take baking, reflected heat — such as from a wall — while growing in poor soil.

Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 23.3. degrees Celsius (zones 6 to 9)
Water requirement: Moderate; low once established
Light requirement: Full sun

See how to grow pink muhly grass

Milieu Landscaping

6. ‘Karl Foerster’ Feather Reed Grass
(Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’)

With a narrow, upright form and dramatic buff-colored seed heads, ‘Karl Foerster’ is an excellent choice to plant as a screen, along the side of the house or bordering property fences. The cool-season grass reaches nearly 6 feet tall but stays under 2 feet wide. The seeds of the ‘Karl Foerster’ are not viable and will not self-start in other areas of the garden or open grassland. Cut back hard in winter, and the plant will regrow to full height in spring.

Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 31.7 degrees Celsius (zones 4 to 9)
Water requirement: Low to moderate
Light requirement: Full sun

See how to grow ‘Karl Foerster’ feather reed grass

Marvin

7. ‘Hameln’ Dwarf Fountain Grass
(Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’)

The soft bunny-tail plumes of ‘Hameln’ are almost impossible not to touch. This warm-season grass is a moderate grower to 2 to 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide. It works well planted along walkways, dry streambeds and in containers mixed with other water-wise perennials.

Note: In some regions, ‘Hameln’ can be invasive and inappropriate for use in gardens bordering wild areas. To prevent self-seeding, deadhead plants in fall to keep seeds from reaching maturity.

Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 31.7 degrees Celsius (zones 4 to 11)
Water requirement: Moderate; low once established
Light requirement: Full sun

debora carl landscape design

8. Foothill Sedge
(Carex tumulicola)

A native to coastal prairies of North America, from California to Canada’s British Columbia, foothill sedge is a cool-seaon grass often heralded on the West Coast as an environmentally friendly lawn replacement. It takes far less water and maintenance than traditional turf, and looks just as good in light-shade areas as it does planted in full sun.

There’s been confusion among plant buyers in recent years, as Berkeley sedge (Carex divulsa) was sold by nurseries as C. tumulicola. While some argue that C. divulsa forms a denser, prettier clump in the garden, be sure to get your plants from a trusted nursery if you’re interested in growing the native C. tumulicola.

Where it will grow: Hardy to 15 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 9.4 degrees Celsius (zones 8 to 10)
Water requirement: Moderate to low
Light requirement: Full sun to light shade

Le jardinet

9. Purple Fountain Grass
(Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’)

A very showy warm-season grass, ‘Rubrum’ can be used as the focal point of a mixed bed or as a stand-alone specimen in a container. Plants form an upright clump 2 to 4 feet tall of deep maroon leaves, topped with arching flower spikes that change from red to tan. In colder winter areas, plant as an annual. The ‘Rubrum’ variety doesn’t reseed — as other varieties do — making it a more garden-friendly choice.

Where it will grow: Hardy to 15 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 9. 4 degrees Celsius (zones 8 to 11)
Water requirement: Moderate; low once established
Light requirement: Full sun

CYAN Horticulture

10. Maiden Grass Cultivars
(Miscanthus sinensis cvs.)

Maiden grass is another favorite warm-season grass prized for its soft texture, brushlike seed heads and graceful form. Size varies by variety, from dwarf ‘Little Kitten’, which tops out at 3 feet, to ‘Graziella’, which can reach the top of your head.

For a particularly dramatic display, plant en masse on both sides of a walkway, where the billowing form will give the feeling of walking through a meadow.

Note: In some regions, maiden grass can be invasive and inappropriate for use in gardens. In temperate climates, seeds rarely reach maturity, but in areas with long, hot summers, there can be a risk of self-seeding. Check with your county agricultural department or native plant society before planting.

Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 28.9 degrees Celsius (zones 5 to 9)
Water requirement: Low to moderate
Light requirement: Full sun

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How To Care For Ornamental Grasses In The Fall

What should I do with my ornamental grasses in fall? Do they need to be cut back or should they be left standing through the winter months? And what about dividing – can that be done before winter as well?

Ornamental grass care questions like these come in quite frequently each and every autumn season. And as popular as grasses have become in home landscapes, it is easy to see why there are so many questions.

Ornamental grasses really do have a tremendous upside as a perennial plant. Not only are they drought and deer resistant, but pests simply don’t bother them in the least.

Even better, they require very little when it comes to ongoing maintenance. Except, of course, when it comes to cutting them back and occasionally dividing grass clumps that have become a bit too large.

Ornamental grasses provide big color and interest all throughout the growing season. But it is in the fall when their plumes emerge that they really come alive!

But one thing is for sure, there is a lot of conflicting information and misinformation about when and how to cut back ornamental grasses. The same goes for finding information about knowing the best time to divide them as well.

With that in mind, we thought it was the perfect time to cover the subject of just exactly what should be done with your ornamental grasses this fall – and what shouldn’t!

When Can Grasses Be Cut Back?

Let’s first tackle the question of cutting back ornamental grasses. For starters, grasses can be cut back in early or late fall. They can also be cut back in early or late spring. In fact, they can even be trimmed down in the dead of winter during a driving snow storm if you so choose.

The point is, the clump style root systems of ornamental grasses are extremely hardy. So much so that they simply do not need any protection from their foliage on top to insulate them from the harsh conditions of winter.

So when is the absolute best time for cutting back? There are actually a few excellent reasons for cutting back ornamental grasses in the fall, or letting them stay up all winter long. And the choice really depends on your situation.

Allowing grasses to stand through winter not only provides protection for wildlife, but can also add beautiful winter interest to your landscape.
Keeping Grasses Up Through Winter – The Pros

Keeping your grasses up through winter has several benefits. For starters, most varieties of ornamental grasses do not plume until mid to late fall. And when they do, they can be stunning in the landscape all the way through winter!

The large plumes and stocky grass foliage are great for adding texture and interest to an otherwise bare winter landscape. But in addition to their beauty, they also are extremely beneficial to winter wildlife.

Allowing your ornamental grasses to stay up provides much needed protection for all kinds of animals. And the seed heads of those grasses are wonderful for providing birds with food as well.

Keeping Grasses Up Through Winter – The Cons

With all of those pros for keeping grasses up through winter, you might wonder why anyone would want to cut ornamental grasses back in the fall. But, in some situations, there is a need.

Anyone who has ornamental grasses growing in their yard knows the mess that some grasses can create over the long winter months. Especially large varieties with their huge plumes.

Large grass plumes can certainly litter the landscape as they dry out over the winter. For those with heavily mulched flowerbeds or close neighbors, cutting back in the fall may be the best option to avoid a lot of spring clean-up.

As the plume heads and stems begin to break down, they scatter everywhere. And it can make for quite the headache when it comes to cleaning out spring flowerbeds!

For us, it has always been a compromise when it comes to cutting back. With the grasses in flowerbeds and up close around our home, we cut back in late fall to avoid the spring mess. And for those away from the house, we leave the grasses in place until spring to provide a bit of winter interest and food for the birds.

Dividing Ornamental Grasses

Now let’s tackle the subject of dividing grasses. Grass clumps should be divided every three to five years to keep the grasses strong and viable.

Ornamental grasses actually put forth new growth each year from the outer edges of the clump. As the grass clump ages, the center area dies off, with the dead area getting larger and larger with each passing year.

Over time, it leads to a more unsightly grass stand, and one that is less able to stand upright through the growing season. But by dividing every three to five years, this never becomes an issue.

Dividing ornamental grasses every three to five years keep your grasses healthy and vibrant. It also can give you plenty of new plants to use all over your landscape!
Fall Is Not The Time…

Unfortunately, when it comes to dividing ornamental grasses, fall is not the time for dividing. Unlike most perennial plants that thrive with fall division, dividing grasses in the fall can be deadly for the plants.

With their root clumps split, they are not able to re-establish in the soil. And because of this, the roots freeze out when the cold of winter sets in. The best time for splitting grasses in early spring, just as new growth begins to set forth from their base. (See : How To Divide Ornamental Grasses)

Cutting Back Grasses – A Few Extra Hints

Whether you cut your grasses back in the spring or fall, one of the easiest ways to cut back your grass stands is with a good pair of electric hedge trimmers. Forget that back breaking work with hand shears – hedge trimmers make quick work of sawing right through the grasses with ease. Product Link : Electric Hedge Shears

We usually cut our grasses with a two prong approach. First, we cut off the grass heads up top to remove the plumes and seed heads. We do this so we can keep the out of our compost pile. Unfortunately, the seed heads can create an issue later in the compost.

Forget cutting back your grasses with hand shears or hand pruners! Instead, use a pair of hedge trimmers to make quick work of the chore.

Next, we cut the remaining stems of the grasses down to within a few inches of the ground. This material is actually great for the compost pile, especially if you shred it up a bit with a shredder or lawn mower.

Here is to keeping your ornamental grasses strong, healthy and beautiful, no matter when you choose to cut them back! Happy Gardening – Jim and Mary.

As always, feel free to email us at [email protected] with comments, questions, or to simply say hello! You can sign up for our free email list in the subscribe now box in the middle of this article. Follow us on Facebook here : OWG Facebook. This article may contain affiliate links.

Planting a lawn in autumn

Is it possible to plant a lawn in autumn

Autumn soil has good humidity, the air is still warm, weed shoots are not so active. All this has a positive effect on the formation of sprouts and strengthening of the roots. When exactly should you plant your lawn in the fall? If you get down to business in the last week of August - early September, then by the first cold nights, the height of the sprouts will be up to 10 cm!

In addition, in the spring there may simply not be enough time to do gardening. Digging, planting, hilling, watering, plant processing, organization of greenhouses. Summer residents rationally push the care of the local area into the background. Of course, you can do grass in the summer. But as soon as tender shoots appear, hot sunbeams await them. A young lawn will turn into a shriveled one in a short time. Also, the abundance of weeds will ruin the young grass. nine0005

Summer residents have much more free time in autumn. The soil is waiting for winter crops, the rains will provide watering, the first slight cold will protect the young shoots from weeds. Therefore, to the question “Is it possible to plant a lawn in the fall?”, The unequivocal answer is “Yes!”.

How to properly plant a lawn in autumn

Ready-made grass mixtures are bought for landscaping the site. Choose them for their intended purpose: sports or decorative lawn. The first one is particularly strong. It withstands mechanical damage, summer heat, frost. Ornamental grass is divided into parterre and landscape gardening. The first is often chosen when it is necessary to sow a large area. It is thick, smooth, but very capricious in care. It is preferred as a "background" for single trees, flower beds, arbors. For summer cottages, landscape gardening mixtures are often bought. This grass is soft but strong. It is easily restored and durable. nine0005

Despite such a variety of herbs, their weather requirements are approximately the same. When determining the timing of sowing the lawn in the fall, they follow the rule: the minimum number of days before the onset of the first cold weather is 40. During this period, the seeds will hatch, grow, and the roots will get stronger. Based on the climate of the middle zone of the Russian Federation, the landing should ideally be completed by September 10th. Warm dry autumn extends this period until September 25. If you delay sowing, the lawn will not have time to grow and will freeze. nine0005

How to plant your lawn in autumn:

  1. Start your lawn preparations in the summer. The soil must be leveled and slightly compacted;

  2. Fertilize the soil 7 days before planting. A complex remedy with nitrogen is suitable;

  3. Choose a calm day for landscaping. First, seeds are sown evenly along the plot, and then across. Lightly "comb" the ground with a rake;

  4. Sprinkle the seeded lawn with peat and walk with a special roller. Then the wind will not blow the seeds; nine0005

  5. Water the area with a sprinkler method - water is sprayed as rain over the soil. This increases the humidity of the earth and the ground layer of air. After completing the work, do not forget to clean the tool so that it lasts longer. You can choose a cleaning agent in a format convenient for you: Cif cream or wipes.

How to take care of the autumn lawn

When the first shoots appear, a small number of weeds will emerge. Therefore, it is important to take care of the lawn and keep it in good condition. Autumn is the season of rains, so nature will do some of the work for you. But if dry weather suddenly sets in, be sure to water the site regularly. The appearance of your lawn depends on water. nine0005

You always want greens to have a rich and juicy color. She also needs more food. Enrich the soil with fertilizer. A two-year humus is well suited. Within a week, positive changes in the quality of the grass will be noticeable.

Even in autumn, don't forget the look of your lawn. The grass grows very fast and reaches a great height in a short time. Some summer residents, of course, leave it as it is, but most still want to give the site the look of an English lawn. It is recommended to cut for the first time at a height of 10 centimeters. The cut will stimulate the growth of new stems and the development of roots. As a rule, this will be enough to leave the lawn until spring. After the snow melts, green grass will please your eye. nine0005

Sowing a lawn in autumn is a fairly simple and inexpensive process. If you approach landscaping responsibly and in a timely manner, then there should not be any problems. And next summer, your country house will be surrounded by a chic green lawn to the envy of all the neighbors!

When is it better to sow lawn grass in autumn or before winter, Agrofirm "Russian Herbs"

It is worth highlighting several significant differences that depend on the region where the planting takes place:

The only caveat: you should not use the latter option for soils that are sloping. During the spring thaw, the water will simply wash away the seeds along with the topsoil where they were planted. Otherwise, autumn planting creates many favorable conditions for the growth of excellent herbage, which will delight you with its density and quality.

Timing of the procedure

Depending on your region, you can choose the beginning or the end of the autumn season. Remember that first the area under the lawn needs to be removed from excess debris, compacted, and then level the soil according to the necessary requirements. It takes a lot of time, besides, the earth needs to rest for at least a month. Allocate time for these types of work, and then it will be easier to navigate the dates for disembarkation. nine0005

Therefore, you should be guided by the following rules:

Therefore, you should calculate these dates in advance before you start sowing lawn grass in the fall. Despite the fact that different crops are included in the grass mixture, they still have approximately the same requirements for humidity and temperature. Therefore, you should not worry about the fact that each species has its own characteristics in the mode, which greatly facilitates the work of sowing.

In general, preparatory work should be completed at the beginning of summer, during this period the soil will have time to rest and in the beginning of autumn it is already possible to start work. This, of course, applies to more southern latitudes. However, for the northern ones, dates can be calculated in a similar way. nine0005

How to sow the lawn in autumn?

Even if you have correctly calculated all the time suitable for sowing, it is worth familiarizing yourself with some other nuances of autumn planting. Then in the new season you will be able to see a thick and juicy lawn that will please the eye. In addition, the herbage will then be characterized by strength and resistance to various damages. This is especially true for those who use the lawn for play or outdoor activities.

In general, the following landing rules are required:

If planting before winter, be sure to provide the seeds with good drainage. Gravel and sand are better for the main materials. After that, you can already proceed to laying the soil. You will see a qualitative effect, especially on a sports-type lawn. nine0005

If your site has a slope, then hydroseeding can help solve the problem. For this method, a mixture of seeds with technological additives that have a gluing effect is used, water and fertilizers are also added. Further, planting material is driven into the ground under powerful water pressure. Thanks to this method, the seeds are kept in the soil, even on steep slopes and high leaching.

Care after sowing

We recommend purchasing planting material from well-known manufacturers. They often guarantee the quality of the goods provided. Even without plentiful care, their products will give a beautiful and dense herbage. Remember that saving now on the purchase of seeds, you will have to invest much more money in top dressing later. Cheap products are often prone to disease. In addition, they have a low percentage of germination, and the result is unlikely to please. nine0005

You can immediately notice that regular watering is not required. In the autumn period, there is already a lot of precipitation, so this procedure is required only during the drought period. However, if the dry season has passed, then it is worth carrying out several irrigations that will moisten the deeper layers of the soil, which will create comfortable conditions for the grass stand to develop. Also, in the future, it will help to keep the float changing when it rains.

The effect should be achieved when the root system is constantly in moisture. Particular attention should be paid to the period when the vegetation emerges.

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