Ornamental Grasses Suitable for Michigan Gardens Dr. Art Cameron Horticulture Deptartment Michigan State University [email protected] Short Sweeties ... Containers and ground covers Large Grasses ... For masses, screens and (less than 3 feet) specimens (5-10 feet) Carex ‘The Beatles’ Mop head carex Arundo donax variegatus Variegated giant reed Carex comans ‘Toffee Twist’ New Zealand sedge grass Carex morrowi ‘Evergold’ Sedge Miscanthus sinensis Japanese silver grass Festuca ‘Elijah Blue’ Blue fescue ‘Cabaret’ Eragrostis ‘Wind Dancer’ Chinese love grass ‘Gracillimus’ Hakonechloa macra Variegated Japanese grass ‘Malapartus’ ‘Aureola’, ‘All Gold’ ‘Sarabande’ Imperata ‘Red Baron’ Blood grass ‘Silberfeder’ Molinia 'Variegata' Variegated moor grass ‘Strictus’ Pennisetum ‘Little Bunny’ Dwarf fountain grass ‘Variegatus’ Pennisetum ‘Hameln’ Fountain grass Molinia litoralis Tall purple moor grass ‘Skyracer’ Great for perennial beds Medium Beauties ... ‘Windspiel’ (3-5 feet) Panicum virgatum Switch grass Calamagrostis xacutifolia Feather reed grass ‘Cloud Nine’ ‘Karl Foerster’ ‘Dallas Blues’ ‘Avalanche’ ‘Northwind’ ‘El Dorado’ Calamagrostis brachytricha Fall-blooming reed grass Chasmanthium latifolium Northern sea oats HUMONGOUS Grasses… To impress your Deschampsia cespitosa Tufted hair grass friends Helichtotrichon sempervirens Blue oats grass (>10 feet) Miscanthus purpurascens Flame grass Arundo donax Giant reed grass Miscathus sinensis Japanese silver grass Miscanthus giganteus Giant silver grass ‘Graziella’ aka Miscanthus floridulus ‘Gold Bar’ Saccharum ravennae Ravenna grass ‘Morning Light’ ‘Rigoletto’ Panicum virgatum Switch grass Tender perennials ... ‘Hanse Herms’ ‘Heavy Metal’ Plant again each year - but many are worth it!! ‘Rotstrahlbusch’ Carex buchananii Leather leaf sedge ‘Shenandoah’ Nasella tenuisima Mexican feather grass Pennisetum orientale Pennisetum xadvena Fountain grass ‘Karley Rose’ Pennisetum xadvena ‘Rubrum’ Purple fountain grass Schizochyrium scoparium Little bluestem Pennisetum sp. Purple millet Spodiopogon sibericus Frost grass Rhynchelytrum nerviglume Ruby grass Sporobolus heterolepis Prairie dropseed a.k.a Melinus nerviglumis Saccharum officinalis Sugar cane Best native grasses ... for the wild spot Herbaceous Perennial Picks Andropogon gerardii Big bluestem These work great with grasses in mid-Michigan. Bouteloua sp. Side oats gramma Most require minimum care and are drought tolerant. Carex muskingumensis Achillea ‘Fireland’, ‘Anthea’, ‘Moonshine’ – Yarrow esp Little Midge Palm sedge Amsonia hubrichtii – Threadleaf Blue Star Eragrostis spectabilis Purple love grass Koeleria macrantha June grass Amsonia tabernaemontana - Blue Star Luzula multiflora Woodrush Artemesia ludoviciana ‘Valerie Finnis’ Panicum virgatum Switch grass Buddleia globosa ‘Nanho Blue’ - Butterfly Bush Schizachyrium scoparium Little bluestem Coreopsis verticillata ‘Flying Saucers’ Sorghastrum nutans Indian grass Echinacea purpurea – numerous cultivars - Purple Sporobouls heterolepis Prairie Drop Seed Cone Flower Eupatorium ‘Gateway’ and ‘Little Joe’ - Joe-Pye Weed Tough as Nails ... for cold and dry - Zone 4 hardy Gaura lindheimeri ‘Whirling Butterfly’ and others Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’ Geranium ‘Rozanne’ Miscanthus giganteus Helianthus salicifolius - Willow-Leaved Sunflower Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’ Nepeta faassenii ‘Six Hills Giant’, ‘Walker’s Low’ - Miscanthus ‘Silberfeder’ Catmint Miscanthus ‘Strictus’ Oenothera fruticosa - Sundrop/Evening Primrose Molinia ‘Skyracer’ Perovskia atriplicifolia - Russian Sage Panicum ‘Heavy Metal’, ‘Cloud Nine’ Sorghastrum nutans - Indian grass Ratibida pinnata – Yellow conflower Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’ - Black Eyed Susan Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’, ‘Brilliant’, ‘Matrona’, ‘Rosy Glow’ Shade tolerant ... Silphium perfoliatum Cup plant Carex (Sedges) - many American species Vernonia missourica Ironweed Chasmanthium latifolium Hakonochloa macra ‘All Gold’ is a great cultivar Luzula sylvestris Some Suggested Reading Sources of Ornamental Grasses Sometimes finding specific new (and old) cultivars may be a Rick Darke. 2007. The Encyclopedia of Grasses for challenge: Livable Landscapes. Timber Press. Very well done - a standby in my book collection for Several Michigan Nurseries produce ornamental grasses design ideas. including Walter’s Gardens, HorTech, and Amber Waves. Piet Oudolf. 1999. Designing with Plants. Timber Press. Tip: Mail-order using the web is an option for unique Outstanding photos and descriptions. Great for plants. Using a search engine, enter the species and browsing when you are daydreaming about cultivar name. combinations. Michael King and Piet Oudolf. Gardening with Grasses. 1998. Timber Press. Excellent reading with more than enough information and design ideas to keep you busy for years. Taylor’s Guide to Ornamental Grasses. 1997. Roger Holmes, editor. Houghton Mifflin Company. .