Featured Plants : grass

Looking For A Fast Growing Clump Grass?

patti-nhn — Fri, 22 May 2009 14:56:00 GMT

The Purple Fountain Grass adds color and interest to your landscaping, is fast growing and is easy to grow. The purple fox tails that sprout out are fun to see waving in the wind. The flowers, the fox tails, begin sprouting in mid-summer and will last into fall. It can be used well as a container grass or in a bed.

Purple Fountain Grass will begin flourishing in mid summer and can last up until the first frost. It can grow from zone 3 to 11 and it is very hardy however in colder climates it would be an annual. Full sun is required and you will want the ground to be well drained. Also, you will want to wait until the danger of frost has passed. It can grow from 12 to 36 inches in height and spread from 20 to 36 inches wide. The plumes arch and it has a moderate growth rate. Foliage is a burgundy color. This grass would be a great compliment to your flower bed or as a border plant and even planted in any areas you want a grow on its own.

Red Riding Hood Could Be In Your Garden!

patti-nhn — Thu, 14 May 2009 12:35:00 GMT

For a lot of added color to your landscape, this Red Riding Hood Grass 'Pennisetum 'Red Riding Hood' is a wonderful addition and very easy care. You can plant this in the garden, in containers and makes a great border plant. Depending on whether it is grown in high-light or low-light environments it will either have light purple or green foliage in low-light, which diminishes its appeal, or in high light it will have a purple coloration which is more appealing.

The Red Riding Hood Grass will mature from 18 to 30 inches and will spread from 12 to 14 inches. It will grow upright with an arching appearance. It is not picky about soil or moisture. Full sun is required to get the purple-red coloration. It is an annual in zones 3 to 8 and a perennial in zones 9 to 11. This would be a good choice for a small area or to plant a row without taking up too much room.

Purple Fountain Grass A Vigorous Grower!

patti-nhn — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:00:00 GMT

If you want people to take a second look at your garden, they will when they see Purple Fountain Grass Pennisetum rubrum growing in your yard. It is an ornamental grass that has awesome plumes that shoot up with purple foliage and purple flowers that look like fox tails. This fountain grass is a fast grower and shapes into a clump as it grows. The tails wave fancifully in the breeze and their purple coloring make them stand out in a crowd, especially in a mass planting. The plumes will appear mid summer and last until first frost. They also make great cut flowers for floral arrangements and could also be dried for decoration.

Purple Fountain Grass is hardy from zones 3 to 11. In the cooler climates it is considered an annual and in warmer climates it is a perennial. It will grow from 12 inches to 36 inches tall and spread 20 to 36 inches wide. It has an arching form and is adaptable to most soils. It will need full sun to thrive. This is a "fun" plant to have in your landscape.

Cat Grass Can Satisfy Your Cat's Craving

patti-nhn — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Are your cats getting into your plants? Do you know that some houseplants can be harmful for cats to eat? Outdoor grasses may have harmful pesticides on them! Here is an opportunity to give them their own plant to chew on. Not only will they enjoy the taste but it can also help with fur ball elimination. There are also vitamins and minerals in the grass. They may like it so much that they won't be interested in your special plants.

The nice thing about Cat Grass is that you can grow it inside at any time of year. You will want to plant it in a pot low enough and heavy enough that it can't easily be knocked over. It needs a bright, sunny location and once it grows to 2-4 inches high, it is ready to eat. You will want to offer it to them for just a few minutes otherwise, they can chew off too much and it may upset their stomachs. It is best to offer it next to their food and water bowls so they see it as food. This may help them learn to stay away from your houseplants as long as you do it on a regular basis. The grass may take some getting used to at first since it will be new to their system but if you keep offering it they will normally adjust to this new food and actually consider it a treat.

The Cat Grass seeds should be planted 1/4-1/2 inch deep and spaced 1/8th inch apart, so very dense, thinning is not necessary. It can take about 3-8 days to emerge.

Your cat may just love you even more when provided with some greens they can eat and not get in trouble!

Ornamental Switch Grass - a grass for all seasons!

patti-nhn — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:22:00 GMT

If you are looking for something to spice up your yard that requires little to no maintenance, ornamental grasses might be what you are looking for. They can add a great backdrop to your annuals and perennials as well as fill in an empty corner. They could also be used along a fence or as a decorative hedge.

The Dallas Blues Switch Grass Panicum virgatum 'Dallas Blues' PPAF adds a great accent of blue foliage. In the late summer to early fall it will spout spikes of tan to pink that shoot up against the blue. They grow up to 4-6 foot tall and spread up to 18 inches. They are great clumped together in a mass, alone or in a row. These are very hardy plants and easy to grow.

I like them clumped together with perennial or annual flowers or small bushes or even a nice ground cover around the plants. Even bark mulch or rock type mulch gives nice texture to the landscape.

If you want to try something new to perk up your garden, this would be a great choice!

Zoysia Grass Plugs for a beautiful sturdy lawn!

patti-nhn — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 13:06:00 GMT

Zoysia grass is a wonderful choice for a low maintenance lawn. It's hardiness and the fact that it doesn't need much water make it a great choice. It has a wonderful full, dense texture and in the winter will turn a beige color and then start coming back in the spring to it's bright green again. I have always liked the look and feel of zoysia grass and also like the beige fall color of it, unfortunately, I can't talk my husband into it as he has a different take on what a lawn should look like!

Our zoysia comes in plugs and those are planted accordingly. This will take a little bit of planning as you will need to know your square footage of the yard and then your desired spacing as you will need to leave space in between the plugs. The recommended spacing is 6 to 12 inches and you can vary that depending on how quickly you want to have your lawn fill in. Zoysia is slow growing so if that's the case you'll want to look at spacing 6" and if you are in no hurry you can space them at 12". There is a table on our website to help you determine how many trays you need to order. This would be the time to order so that you can start planting if you are in warmer zones or get your order in to be ready to plant for the cooler zones. Zoysia grass is zoned for zones 4-11.