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The variety of grass
One family of plants which you would think will grow better than any here in Kerry, would be grasses…
However growing grass which is not indigenous can be tricky. Most grass such as Pennisetums, those of the ‘cat tail’ flowers, enjoy warm, sunny weather, with well drained, light soil. I find that many of the showy Pennisetum, such as P. rubrum, (reddish foliage with purple flowers), Hameln, (green foliage, creamy flowers) or ‘Buttons’, (grey foliage, purple button shaped flowers) really need a long, sunny summer to produce good numbers of flowers and attractive foliage.
Autumn colour also depends on light condition.
Any Pennisetum I have grown in my garden has not really survived the winter, however, those I grow in pots along a south facing wall do very well. I think they are particularly effective if used as a seasonal plant mixed with bedding.
Festuca is a more resilient grass, doing a little better in our wet winters. Festuca also abhors waterlogged soil, and prefers a site in full sun. Festuca glauca is a steely blue, achieving its best colour in a very sunny spot.
Stipa is a good grass for most gardens, Stipa’s ‘pony tails’ has pretty curled foliage and masses of fluffy flowers. Stipa gigantica has elegant flowers which can reach up to 2m, though the foliage only grows to 60cm.
Hakonechloa macra is also very tolerant of wet winters. It is a low growing grass which is evergreen, with a lovely fresh, limegreen colour.
All grasses prefer well drained soil, and most like the sun. Many look attractive in the winter, even as they go brown, and are much used by insects to hibernate in. Clumps can be cut back severely – I am always in conflict when is the best time.
On the one hand, the skeletal fronds look beautiful in the winter sun, so I like to leave to leave the cutting until spring.
On the other hand, water can lodge in the base of the plant, causing the whole thing to rot. It would be ideal if we could predict the winter weather – if wet, cut back, if dry and frosty, leave til spring!
One grass I would recommend highly for Irish weather is Miscanthus. There are many varieties, from very tall to about 60cm. They all spread, so you will need space. Their flower heads are particularly liked by greenfinches in the winter, so they are the last grasses in our garden to be pruned!
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