Grasses and the rock garden

Finally (!) someone else that likes Melica ciliata.  I have grown in for many years,, like it very much and can't give it away at our plant sales!  Of course it isn't "blooming" at the time of the sale, but I have even brought photos for encouragement to no avail.  I have to agree though, it does look rather weedy when it is just foliage, much like Side Oats gramma.  For me, it just "disappears" in the garden when not in "bloom."  Now I can tell members that Panayoti likes it!

Unlike the second pic here, the seed heads really are white.

1. Melica ciliata
2. Melica ciliata and Nigella hispanica

I like the Melica ciliata too!  I only have Melica altissima 'Atropurpurea', at present - a quite stiffly upright one that starts falling over after it blooms and has to be cut back.

This has been a wet summer, and though summers are cool here, it's been much cooler even than usual.  Still, it's most bizarre that grama is only blooming now!

Although I like some grasses I usually do not plant grasses in the garden except in the lawn! Some grasses are among the worst weeds here.
The last couple of years however, have I tried grasses like Cortaderia and Pennisetum species but they are not very hardy here - to wet in winter I suppose.

Bamboos are better! Even if I still weed out seedlings from "The great bamboo flowering year" about 10 years ago.

Hera are two of the bamboos I grow:
1) Fargesia muriale. This species flowered and selfsowed everywhere about 10 years ago. All the all plants died.
2) Sasa palmata

I thought I'd put a word in for one of my favorite native western clumping grasses. Achnatherum hymenoides (syn. Oryzopsis hymenoides, Stipa hymenoides) commonly Known as Indian ricegrass.
It adds a light refracting sparkle when in bloom. It will grow in the driest conditions imaginable. I have it seeding around my dry garden, moderately. If kept very dry It forms neat clumps about ten inches tall. If watered regularly they will grow substantially taller about eighteen to twenty inches tall.

I like Blue grama, and grow our native Minnesota form (Although, I don't know that it is any different than other areas.)  When I was in western Minnesota, I kept my eyes peeled for Hairy grama, with its protruding spike on the seed head, but never found it.

Trond, Fargesia nitida even tried to bloom in my cold climate that year.  It didn't have time to actually bloom, but it kicked the bucket anyway.  Fargesia rufa seems to be the best bamboo for my climate.  I have it growing in a few different places, including where I used to have Fargesia nitida, and it does much better.

I have always wondered about hardy and non-spreading bamboos, is Fargesia nitida a safe non-rampant spreader?  It looks most attractive.

I believe all Fargesia spp. are clump growing, and do not spread.

I do grow some Fargesia species and they are "clumpers". When they bloomed some years ago they sprouted from seeds everywhere. The old plants died but I had more than I needed of seedlings.

I'm passionate about our native grasses, many of which would do well in rock gardens. Nassella tenuissima (Stipa tenuissima) is native to the southern part of New Mexico but is overused and weedy in the garden. I spent a few years eradicating it from my previous garden after planting it around a pond where it looked great until it started taking over.

Most people know about Bouteloua gracilis (see Lori's photo above), but most people aren't familiar with the other Boutelouas, nor with other taxa. Guess I'll have to photograph and identify them next spring and summer. One of my favorites is also native to my property, a tiny Muhlenbergia that requires one to get closer to really appreciate it. I think it's M. torreyi, but haven't keyed it out yet. It would look great in a trough with other dryland species. There are also non-weedy Sporoboluses, Andropogons, Poas, etc.

More when the world starts growing again.

Grasses--either natives, (which I can't in good conscience call weeds) or agricultural escapes-which I absolutely do call weeds-my definition being based on nativeness, not whether they are tasty to cows!-- are my most problematic invaders of garden space here :( Nonetheless, the right species in the right space, I find very attractive, and I would love to find some species that actually stay small
I also plan to do some experimenting with the numerous local Carex and allies, many of which are very beautiful in flower and/or seed..

I was pleased to realise that Foxtail Barley (first photo Hordeum jubatum), one of my favourites since childhood, is in fact native, and not an agricultural weed as it can seem; it ranges from 30 cm to a metre (don't think I have ever seen that) and I bet a really dry planting would keep it low and lovely (probably not too near anything precious and delicate....)..
also pictured, a couple of nameless ( to me) 'sedges' photographed on the same day in late July..

Here's a good one for the slightly larger rock garden... Festuca scoparia 'Pic Carlit' (again, shown here not in a rock garden but bear with me).  

F. scoparia (syn. F. gautieri) is also known as bearskin fescue, and is native to the Pyrenees.  The blades are very narrow and stiff... rather prickly for weeding around, actually.  (Makes a nice cushion, Trond, but not one you'd like to sit on!  ;))  In bloom, the heads are held all at the same height for a very orderly appearance.

Skulski wrote:

Here's a good one for the slightly larger rock garden... Festuca scoparia 'Pic Carlit' (again, shown here not in a rock garden but bear with me).  

F. scoparia (syn. F. gautieri) is also known as bearskin fescue.  The blades are very narrow and stiff... rather prickly for weeding around, actually.  (Makes a nice cushion, Trond, but not one you'd like to sit on!)  In bloom, the heads are held all at the same height for a very orderly appearance.

Lori, rather nice tussocks but I have learnt :-\ ;D

Alas my fargesia looks dead this winter...it is now 8 feet high and 15 years old..always turns a little brown in winter but it looks completely shiveled at the moment...hopefully it is resprout from the base.

I have Helictotrichon sempervirens and Carex elata 'Bowles Gold' in my rockery (Can't post pics as I am not home at the moment)

Lori, is Festuca scoparia evergreen?  And, [but] it looks so soft in the photo...
How big would you say those are in the foliage stage?

No, it's not evergreen here, Rick.  It does look soft and nonthreatening in the photo but that's deceptive!  The blades are very thin and stiff and prickly!  The bigger of my 2 plants has got to ~10" (25cm) diameter since being planted in 2004.  (The picture is from 2007.)

Oops, I guess I should add how tall it gets... the mounds of foliage stand about 6"-8" tall.

Skulski wrote:

No, it's not evergreen here, Rick.  It does look soft and nonthreatening in the photo but that's deceptive!  The blades are very thin and stiff and prickly!  The bigger of my 2 plants has got to ~10" (25cm) diameter since being planted in 2004.  (The picture is from 2007.)

Oops, I guess I should add how tall it gets... the mounds of foliage stand about 6"-8" tall.

that's a nice short one, Lori! Did you get it as seed or a plant? Do the blades dry and stay in place in fall?

I bought a couple of plants from a local garden center that had an alpine section (supplied by Beaver Creek, I suspect, but not sure).
The blades turn dry and tan in winter but are replaced in late spring.  The only maintenance it needs/gets is that I cut the flower stems off after they dry.

I tend to like grasses best when they turn brown (or those that aren't green to start with!)  ;D green gets tiresome in mid-summer...lol

Yeah, because summer is so loooonnng here, right?   ;D ;D ;D

Skulski wrote:

Yeah, because summer is so loooonnng here, right?   ;D ;D ;D

That's it--just overwhelmed by all that growing season, lol.. I just have an overall preference for non-green plants-blue, white, black, red, brown..of course the occasional  bright green sets them off nicely ;)

You need to join the "Brown is my Favorite Color Club".
There's always room for more applicants.
I think I am the only member...

RickR wrote:

You need to join the "Brown is my Favorite Color Club".
There's always room for more applicants.
I think I am the only member...

Rick, do you work for UPS ;D

RickR wrote:

You need to join the "Brown is my Favorite Color Club".
There's always room for more applicants.
I think I am the only member...

lol--is that brown for everything, or just plants? I do love brown for plants, but also really really fond of glaucous surfaces and white furry coverings, spines in red and black and white, stripes, spots etc etc!

Well, maybe not everything.  But pretty much  ;D  Actually, I do agree that brown isn't all that exciting unless you combine it with other textures, patterns, colors, etc.  But one only needs to venture a view of a marsh in the fall with all the varied hues of cattails, sedges, grasses, and bare trees and willow scrub to know what I mean.

RickR wrote:

Well, maybe not everything.  But pretty much  ;D   Actually, I do agree that brown isn't all that exciting unless you combine it with other textures, patterns, colors, etc.  But one only needs to venture a view of a marsh in the fall with all the varied hues of cattails, sedges, grasses, and bare trees and willow scrub to know what I mean.

I fully agree on that--I have many photos of such places/times!

cohan wrote:

...also pictured, a couple of nameless ( to me) 'sedges' photographed on the same day in late July..

Cohan,  I believe the sedge in the second photo of Reply #10 is Carex buxbaumii.  In my area this sedge is an indicator of undisturbed high quality remnants.  I tried to grow it last year.  Not a single seed germinated.  Just to prove my ineptitude, I am trying again. :D  Maybe the few plants I found between a railroad and highway borrow pit are unable to cross pollinate.

Here is an article about Carex buxbaumii in Europe that I found to be interesting.

http://www.botanicgardens.ie/conserve/buxbaumii.htm

My best guess on the third sedge is Carex festucacea.

Lastly, thank you to Panayoti for starting this thread.  It takes a mature gardener to appreciate the subtle beauty of the graminoides.

James

Carex buxbaumii is common here but C. festucacea doesn't grow here at all. But I am ignorant of this genus :-[

Hoy,  It does not grow in Alberta either!  Therefore, it can't be C. festucacea.  Maybe it is C. brevior.

James

James, I'm going to take a look at those... to suggest why I have not looked at these (in terms of ID, I love the plants and photograph them often)-- Flora of Alberta has 3 full columns of species names listed in the index, and the key to the genus is 10 pages long, requiring close examination of mature fruits! Nevermind related or similar looking genera.......
A very quick glance at the map shows over 30 species that should or could be in my area, and past experience shows there are probably a number of others that have not been observed here but are in areas nearby and likely could occur around here..
Interestingly, buxbaumii is not shown in my area, but is in the 'could be here but not noted' category, since it is shown to the west of here, and many foothills plants do occur here but have not been officially observed..
Similar applies to brevior, which the maps mostly show occurring well to the north of here..
I don't know to what extent farming areas such as this have been officially surveyed, but its not uncommon to find things not shown on the maps (which in any case are so tiny, its hard to tell what is where..)..

Cohan,

    For learning sedges it is best to take a collection.  Just one stem (with mature fruits) broken off at the base (don't forget to include the sheath) should be sufficient.  Lightly press the specimen between some paper as it dries.  I know a 10 page key and 30 species seems daunting.  Take it one at a time and it won't seem too bad.  Just be glad you are not looking at Cronquist and Gleason, they have 230 Carex species for the Eastern US.
    Simple features like achene shape will help narrow down the possibilities quickly.  Achenes are either lenticular (lens shaped) or trigonous (with three angles).  If you key sedges you will get to add words like androgynous and gynaecanderous to your vocabulary.  This should impress botany friends.  Keying out sedges is a much more productive activity than watching TV when it is -40 F outside.

James

James wrote:

Cohan,

  Keying out sedges is a much more productive activity than watching TV when it is -40 F outside.

James

LOL--no doubt! but will require planning half a year ahead... ;) The extreme number of species makes me wonder (not having gone through them yet to see what level of variation is actually there!) if the genus just needs a good clean-up, or whether there really are that many? I've been spending a lot of time in discussions of Haworthia lately ( a genus of South African succulents closely related to Aloe, for those not familiar) and there is a huge amount of debate from a moderate position of something like 60 species wherein many intergrade and the separations are very difficult, to an insane, out of control naming spree by some others having something like 600+ species-- every new population with a different look in an extremely variable group of plants is given species status  (to add to the fun, recent DNA studies have prompted a suggesting to re-sink Haworthia and a handful of other genera back into Aloe! Nevermind there isn't even agreement about what family these should all be in- Aloaceae, Asphodelaceae, Asparagaceae..) ahhh- Taxonomy!
I've been trying to capture characters needed to id some of my local Asteraceae... sedges will be another tougher project, still no headway on willows, etc etc...lol I'm learning tons along the way, even if I can't name everything yet (sometimes the result of a bit of knowledge is to make me unwilling to apply any names at all having realised just how much I do not know!)

It is more than 100 species of Carex in Norway but I can only about 10 :( However, we never have -40F outside . . . . . .

Hoy wrote:

However, we never have -40F outside . . . . . .

Well then, you will just never know ;)

cohan wrote:

Hoy wrote:

However, we never have -40F outside . . . . . .

Well then, you will just never know ;)

I meant we never have that cold here where I live but the all time record in Norway is -51.4^oC (-60.5F). The coldest I've experienced myself is -35^oC (-31F) and I have no immediate wish to break that record ;)

Yes, but if you do not have that cold where you live, you will never have a chance to study the sedges...lol- I guess you could study them instead when wet weather keeps you indoors ;)
We had at least -38C the other day, but still not quite -40C/F which we have not achieved this year so far!