Grasses and Succulents …….. who knew they could look so good?

The Garden of Contrasts at Cornerstone Sonoma, California by Oehme van Sweden

Ornamental grasses and succulents planted together. Sounds a little crazy I know, however it works exceptionally well.

It’s a planting scheme regularly adopted by famous designers from all over the globe such as Oehme van Sweden http://uk.pinterest.com/bluedaleplants/oehme-van-sweden/, Franchesca Watson http://uk.pinterest.com/bluedaleplants/franchesca-watson/, Andrea Cochrane http://uk.pinterest.com/bluedaleplants/andrea-cochran/ and Bernard Trainer http://uk.pinterest.com/bluedaleplants/designers-bernard-trainor/ just to name a few.

As garden companions, grasses and succulents have similar needs. Both have low water requirements and do well in full sun; both generally appreciate a well drained soil; and both usually herald from similar climates. Therefore they do well inhabiting the same garden space.

Their similarities end here. Dramatically different appearances are what make the pairing of succulents and grasses so visually appetising.

Succulents and Wind Grass by Franchesca Watson, Cape Town.

The chunky, sculptural forms of succulents contrast drastically with the slender, fine form of ornamental grasses. This is further exaggerated by the movement grasses can bring to the garden when blown by wind.

Planting layout can range from formal to wild meadow and everything in between. Rows of grasses with low succulents neatly growing in the foreground is the most obvious formal application. Wild meadows, filled with evenly spaced Agaves nested among a monoculture of grasses is quite unique and can be outstanding. Even in a large pot or raised bed this combination can work.

Carpobrotus (Pig Face) and Ornamental Grass by Franchesca Watson, Cape Town.

So who works well together?

• Try large Agaves with Poa labillardieri ‘Eskdale’  http://www.bluedaleplantsonline.com.au/shop/Ornamental-Grasses/Eskdale/12/?src=relatedlhs or ‘Nafray’ Pennisetum alopecuroides http://www.bluedaleplantsonline.com.au/shop/Ornamental-Grasses/Nafray/26/?src=relatedlhs  for a large scale eye catching garden. Some flowering perennials such as Echinacea (Coneflower), Salvia, Chamomile or Leucanthemum (Shasta Daisy) can add seasonal colour.

• Sedum spectable (Autumn Joy) works well with Dianella varieties, fine foliaged Lomandras such as ‘Shara’ and the above Poa and Pennisetum  http://www.bluedaleplantsonline.com.au/shop/Ornamental-Grasses/

• An Australian version would pair native grasses such as ‘Tanika’ Lomandra http://www.bluedaleplantsonline.com.au/shop/Ornamental-Grasses/Tanika/2/ or ‘Eskdale’ Poa with the flowering succulent groundcover ‘Aussie Rambler’ Carpobrotus (Pig Face) http://www.bluedaleplantsonline.com.au/shop/Ground-Cover-Plants/AUSSIE-RAMBLER/7/ for astounding results.

Get the idea? The attached pictures will help you further. For more photographs and inspiration, check out Bluedale’s pinterest board ‘Grasses and Succulents in landscapes’. http://uk.pinterest.com/bluedaleplants/grasses-and-succulents-planted-together-in-the-lan/

Pennisetums ……. Friends and Foes

Pennisetums are warm season grasses that are native to many parts of the world, including Australia. Pennisetum range in form from grasses suitable for lawns ie kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum) to medium/large tussocks that have been used in gardening. The Australian species is Pennisetum alopecuroides, and it is a tussock form. Bluedale grow and supply 4 cultivars of P. alopecuroides as well as the common form. We also sell one species from Africa. Let’s call these species Friends.

Now for the Foe. Pennisetum setaceum is from Africa and south western Asia. It is highly invasive and will germinate readily in gardens, bushland, even cracks in the footpath. Not the sort of plant you want to have around! P. setaceum has been declared a Class 5 weed in NSW (restricted weed which must not be sold, bought or knowingly distributed throughout the entire state) and Class 3 weed in Qld (environmental weed). It is yet to be classified in other states.

Native Pennisetums used in landscaping and supplied by Bluedale

The cultivars and common form of P. alopecuroides supplied by Bluedale are regularly used in the landscape industry and include:
• ‘Nafray’ Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘PA300’ http://www.bluedaleplantsonline.com.au/shop/Ornamental-Grasses/Nafray/26/
• ‘Purple Lea’ Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘PAV400’ (see first picture) http://www.bluedaleplantsonline.com.au/shop/Ornamental-Grasses/Purple-Lea/69/
• ‘Pennstripe’ Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘PAV300’
• ‘Cream Lea’ Pennisetum alopecuroides http://www.bluedaleplantsonline.com.au/shop/Ornamental-Grasses/Cream-Lea/64/
• Pennisetum alopecuroides(common form)

‘Purple Lea’ in flower.

P. alopecuroides is known as Swamp Foxtail Grass. Its distribution ranges from tropical Queensland to the south of New South Wales mainly along the coast. P. alopecuroides naturally occurs in moist conditions and boggy areas. Importantly, Harden (1993) classifies P. alopecuroides as a native Australian species, however to confuse the issue, many sources indicate it may not be indigenous to Australia, having been transported here prior to European settlement.

Pennisetum varieties flower in late summer and autumn. Unfortunately, it follows that in areas with warm moist winters, such as tropical Qld and northern NSW, some cultivars, namely ‘Nafray’ and ‘Purple Lea’, can self-seed. Bluedale believe in responsible gardening and would not recommend growing either of these cultivars in such areas. To complicate things further, modern gardeners and landscapers will need to consider global warming and the resulting warmer winters some of us are already experiencing when using any plant that produces seed in abundance. The same can be said of gardens with warm winter micro-climates, coastal gardens and irrigated gardens.

When grown in other areas, an uncharacteristically warm and moist winter can see some self-seeding. In this case, we recommend thick, quality mulch and vigilance. Beware of coarse mulch such as pine bark as this leaves gaps and exposed soil suitable for seed germination. Seed heads can be removed before seed is set and unwanted seedlings spray very effectively with glyphosate.

In Bluedale’s experience, ‘Pennstripe’ is yet to produce viable seed. It is also the first variegated Australian native grass available. ‘Cream Lea’ has also proven to be non-invasive. There are no reports from Bluedale customers of ‘Cream Lea’ self-seeding.

Pennisetum ‘Rubrum’

Pennisetum ‘Rubrum’ is a commonly grown ornamental cultivar grown from the species Pennisetum advena native to Africa, the Middle East and East Asia. Both tall and dwarf forms are available. It is completely sterile and does not have a rhizome. ‘Rubrum’ will therefore not become a weed.

Pennisetum setaceum in flower.

Our Foe Pennisetum setaceum

The common name for P. setaceum is Fountain Grass (see second picture). In an ideal world P. setaceum would not be available for sale in Australia. Over the past few years Bluedale has however, seen projects where this weed has been supplied to unsuspecting landscapers as the native form. The take home message here is be sure you/your contractors source plants from a reliable supplier. If in doubt, ask. Beware of plants produced by ‘backyard growers’ and sold at places like local markets.

P. setaceum flowers most of the year and produces an abundance of viable seed, which is mainly dispersed by wind but can also be spread by vehicles, humans, livestock, water and possibly birds. Where the native form has 10 – 30% seed viability, P. setaceum has close on 100%. Notably seed has been reported to remain viable for at least 7 years. It was likely brought into Australia as an ornamental grass and has been living it up here ever since.

According to the NSW Department of Primary Industries, P. setaceum is difficult to eliminate. Control may need to be repeated several times a year. The long-lived seeds mean continued monitoring after treatment is essential. Control should initially be directed to outlying populations followed by treatment of the core area. Small infestations of fountain grass can be removed by uprooting and removing/destroying seed heads. Extensive infestations of fountain grass are probably best controlled with herbicides, combined with mechanical techniques.

Pennisetum setaceum diagram from Harden, 1993.

The invasive behaviour of P. setaceum is likely to be the first step in its identification. Other features include:
• upright tufted grass with very narrow leaves and flowering stems growing up to 1 m or more tall
• long spike-like seed -heads (6-30 cm long) are reddish, pinkish or purplish in colour
• flowers are always present
• P. setaceum has a hairy peduncle (flower stalk) compared with the hairless peduncle of P. alopecuroides (see drawings)
• seed-heads contain large numbers of densely packed stalk less flower spikelet clusters
• each flower spikelet cluster is surrounded by numerous feathery bristles (12-26 mm long) and one significantly larger bristle (16-40 mm long)
• its mature seed-heads turn straw-coloured or whitish and the seeds are shed with the feathery bristles still surrounding them.
If in doubt about identification, contact your local council or post a specimen to your nearest botanic gardens (most botanic gardens have a plant identification service that charges a small fee).

Pennisetum alopecuroides seed diagram from Harden, 1993

REFERENCES
Harden, G. J. (Ed) 1993 ‘Flora of New South Wales Volume 4’ Copywrite Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust. Published by New South Wales University Press, Kensington, NSW Australia.
NSW Primary Industries Biosucurity (part of Department of Primary Industries) Weed Alert Brochure http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/pests-weeds/weeds/profiles/fountain-grass

Cream Lea® Pennisetum alopecuroides on The Bluedale Plants Online Show, Episode #18

Cream Lea® Pennisetum alopecuroides on The Bluedale Plants Online Show, Episode #18

This week we’re going to look at a very ornamental grass called Cream Lea®. Cream Lea® is a Pennisetum variety grass, now this is the native Pennisetum whose botanical name is Pennisetum alopecuroides which is a bit of a mouth full so let’s just call it Cream Lea®.

Click on the photo above to watch this on video

As the name Cream suggests the Pennisetum Cream Lea® has cream coloured flowers to white flowers which is quite unique amongst Australian native plants and particularly with the native grasses. It is a very ornamental plant it has lush green foliage and in late Summer early Autumn these sprays of cream flowers which are really stunning.

Well Cream Lea® Pennisetum is a great plant for areas such as mulch garden beds or areas that maybe have a little bit of an issue with water. It doesn’t mind having wet feet and it’ll actually grow quite lush for you. It doesn’t mean that you only have to put it in those situations, it can be in an irrigated garden but I always recommend that you plant it in a garden where you can give it some Summer watering.

Now the plant it self is a warm season grass so you’ll get lush green growth through the foliage over Summer and then in late Autumn in to Winter you’ll see a change of  foliage colour. Now that’s a nice characteristic about the Cream Lea® is that you do get that foliage change.

Out of all the Pennisetum varieties that we grow the Cream Lea® is one that holds it’s colour better over the winter where some of the other varieties really get a straw colour through them the Cream Lea® will still maintain some green foliage through out the plant profile. So it doesn’t completely go dormant like some of the other ones. Apart from that the plant is lush green growing over Summer for those flowers that are held way above the foliage and actually make a stunning feature.

It works in a range of climates and even though it’s a warm season grass, naturally it’s going to be better suited to the coast where you don’t get super cold winters. If you do get really cold winters you’re going to see a lot more dormant periods through out the plant.

I would suggest maybe using it between Brisbane, Sydney and in to Melbourne and through the Southern Tablelands and inland climates. You might just want to consider it unless you’ve got a micro climate that’s a little bit more protected from frost.

Like all warm season grasses you can dead head the flowers at the end of flowering which is generally late Autumn and then you just leave the old foliage on over winter so that if you do get frost on it or if you do get some dormant foliage on the plant then coming in to Spring you can give it a hair cut by taking a third to half the foliage away.

That will just allow the plant to refresh it self with knew growth. So it is easy it’s really a once a year trimming of the foliage. If you’re concerned about the appearance of dead heads in late Autumn you just dead head the plant. But generally that’s the only maintenance that you need apart from over a hot Summer maybe giving it some irrigation and then feeding it with a slow release fertiliser such as Dynamic Lifter or a native Osmocote® in Spring.

On our website we only supply Cream Lea® as a 140mm pot. The nature of the way we propagate the plant, it sort of limits how we can actually produce it but because people are using it as a feature plant or in a couple of groups that format seems to be working well people. They’re buying a larger plant to get instant impact in their garden.

For more information or to buy Cream Lea® Pennisetum alopecuroides click here… 

Purple Fountain Grass Pennisetum on The Bluedale Plants Online Show, Episode #15

On this week’s episode of The Bluedale Plants Online Show Craig Waters showcases Purple Fountain Grass

Click on the photo above to watch this on Video

This week I want to look at 2 designer grasses which are closely related. Both of them are Purple fountain grass which isn’t actually a native grass and this is quite unique for us because generally we grow native plants. This is a very popular ornamental grass that’s from South Africa but it has a sterile seed head so you’re not going to have any problems with weed and the plant self seeding in your garden. So you’re safe from that point of view.

With Purple Fountain Grass there are 2 versions, one is a tall version which will grow to about 1.4 meters high and then there is a dwarf version which will grow to about 900mm high (90cm). So depending on the size of your garden or the application you want to use it for you’ve got the option of whether you want a tall plant or small plant.

Naturally the tall plants are good for filling in in large gardens or creating an informal screen between you and your neighbours where the smaller ones tend to work better in small court yard gardens or gardens close to your house where you don’t want something that’s going to get all that big.

Both plants have purple foliage which is unique characteristic of the Purple Fountain Grass. One interesting thing with the the Purple Fountain Grass though is that it is a warm season grass but in winter you do get a bit of straw colouring in the foliage so you will definitely need to trim this as you come out of winter to allow a new flush of purple foliage to emerge during the warmer months of the year. So you’ve got 2 good plants 2 different applications you can use them for,  fantastic plants for the garden.

As I mentioned  Purple Fountain Grass is a warm season grass so it tends to do better in warner climates along the coast from Queensland through to Sydney and I have seen it being used in Melbourne but more so in climates that are a little bit warmer. In inland climates where you get a cold winter you’re going to see the plants go in to their dormant phase a lot earlier and some people really want to see a bit more colour in their garden through out the year. In those inland cooler climates it definitely can be used but just be prepared to see more brown foliage through out the year. On the coast, you going to have beautiful large growth three quarters of the year and then a little bit of dormant cycle through the winter months.

Being a warm season grass you always trim Purple Fountain Grass coming out of winter because what you want to do is remove the dormant foliage, and that allows new fresh growth to emerge. Give it a fertilise, a good drink of water particularly if you get a dry Spring and you will see lush new growth emerging. It also flowers with these beautiful fox-tail flowers when ever the plant is actively growing so Spring, Summer and Autumn you’re going to have these beautiful fox-tail like flowers which are quite dramatic. Naturally in Winter when it’s in its dormant phase you’re not going to see those as much.

On our online store we only supply  Purple Fountain Grass in the 140mm pot. We find that the nature of the plant doesn’t really suit the Viro-Tube 10 pack which we get a lot of requests for so we’re trying to work out how we can actually supply that side of the market but for now we only have the 140mm pot.

For more information or to buy Purple Fountain Grass click here

 

Bluedale Plants Online is an online nursery that offers No Fuss, Functional Plants delivered in Top Condition straight to your door.

Bluedale is a dedicated grower of Australian Native Plants. Our range includes Native Grasses, Strappy Leafed Plants,Sedges and Wetland Plants and Native Trees & Shrubs that you can buy online.