by Susan Scott
Gardeners in Steamboat are amazing!
They deal with high altitude, cold temperatures, and most of all, very dry
summers. I love to garden, but when the heat of summer arrives, I prefer to
have really easy plants because I can’t find the time to tend the garden and I
don’t have automatic sprinklers.
I have found several perennial ornamental
grasses that are a great fit for Steamboat. They are very low maintenance: cold
hardy; drought tolerant; will grow in sun or shade; deer resistant; pest and
disease free; and, mostly tolerant of poor soil. The area I have placed them
only receives approximately 4 hours of sun each day in summer. (Hint: more sun,
more water yields bigger plants!)
I began with the tall, showy
feather reed grass (Calamagrostis acutiflora
“Karl Foerster”). It grows around 4’ tall with a reddish brown stalk in the
spring, the tops feathering out with a beautiful golden wheat color. It
provides a lovely backdrop that can “hide” objects like the electric meters,
etc.
Next I found a Strawberries and
Cream ribbon grass, or reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea) with white and
green stripes and shades of pink throughout. It grows in big bunches
approximately 2’ tall.
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| Ornamental Grasses Photo by Susan |
I found lots of Blue Oat Grass (also
called Blue Avena, Helictotrichon
sempervirens) in the area, which is about 1’ tall and thick and bushy.
One of the staples of grasses grown
locally is Elijah Blue Fescue (Festuca
glauca) which has an attractive blue color and grows in low clumps that are
good for edges.
I filled in with Japanese Blood
Grass (Imperata cylindrica “Red
Baron”) that has a cranberry red color and Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepsis) to add color
and variety.
These grasses are fast growing, very
hardy, and easy to establish. The first year I mulched to keep down any
weeds, but now that they have spread out, there is no room for weeds! I have
added some more color with Catmint (Nepeta) because that is another perennial
that takes very little care. Some of these grasses are considered invasive in
other parts of the country, but here, they stay smaller because of the extreme
climate.
Blue Grama (Bouteloua gracilis), a sun lover, is another popular grass (designated
Colorado’s state grass) and Purple Fountain Grass (Pennisetum setaceum “Rubrum”), an annual, grows around town. Neither of these would work for me. I do
minimal maintenance with my ornamental grasses. I only water once every two
weeks (if that!) and cut them back before the first snow. Some people like to
keep them tall until spring but I find that we have so much snow that it’s
easier to cut them back in the fall. And that’s it! Enjoy the compliments of
your visitors as they admire your handiwork!
Susan Scott was a Master Gardener in St. Louis at the
Missouri Botanical Garden for several years before moving to Steamboat, where
she volunteers with the local gardeners.
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