Three of the best grasses for fall and winter interest
Ornamental grasses are often overlooked in the heat of the summer, but as fall approaches grasses emerge as the centrepiece of many gardens.
Ornamental grasses provide movement in the slightest wind, they’re drought tolerant and provide needed texture and height in the garden throughout summer and winter. They’re easy to grow, even easier to maintain, provide habitat for insects (bird food), and add an elegance to gardens that is difficult to obtain through traditional plantings.
In fall, their seed heads rise above the tallest of plants and often become the stars of our garden.
What’s not to love?
If you’re fussy, there’s an ornamental grass made just for you.
Be sure to check out my post on three of the best grasses for a shade or woodland garden. You might also like to read my post on Why we should leave ornamental grasses standing all winter.
Ranging in size from the massive Pampas grasses to the small and compact Caraxes; from colourful varieties like Japanese Blood grass to shades of variegated green best most evident in the popular forms of porcupine grass. There are also popular annual grasses, like the purple fountain grass, to add to the array of impressive perennial grasses.
Grasses are so adept, that they work in almost any garden style from shady woodland gardens, to sunny meadow gardens.
Miscanthus Sinensis Gracillimus or Chinese Silver Grass stands out beautifully in the fall garden with its silvery plumes. In the rear, a drift of Chasmanthium Latifolium or (Northern Sea Oats), complete with its interesting seed heads, spreads around the birch clump.
Best ornamental grasses for fall and winter
But let’s take a close look at three of the best ornamental grasses for fall.
My favourite ornamental grasses for fall and winter in my garden are Miscanthus Sinensis Gracillimus or Chinese Silver Grass, Pennisetum or fountain grass including Karley Rose, and Chasmanthium Latifolium (Northern Sea Oats).
All three are strong performers in the fall and even better in the winter when a dusting of snow creates a lovely vignette in the landscape.
This garden vignette on the edge of the Japanese garden benefits from three large Miscanthus plantings that help create a sense of privacy.
Chinese Silver Grass is perfect for privacy
Miscanthus Sinensis is an outstading ornamental grass that comes into its own in late summer when the purplish flower plumes rise up above the strapping green foliage and grows to heights of 5-6 ft, tall (150-180 cm) and in well-behaved clumps of 3-4 ft. wide (90-120 cm).
Give them plenty of sun in good to average well-drained soil and this stalwart of the late summer garden will perform admirably for years with nothing but an annual clipping.
Miscanthus is perfect as a natural privacy screen
Not only does this plant look great through summer and fall, it can be used to create an elegant natural privacy hedge. Plant it in groupings of three or five in strategic spots around your patio or fround-level deck to create a graceful, soft screen that does the same job as a static wood or metal panel, but has the added benefit of adding movement with a gentle breeze.
I use it in three places in our garden. Three large plants grow on the edge of our Japanese-inspired garden creating a lovely backdrop (see photograph above) for one of our large boulders and weeping Japanese Maple. But it’s real purpose is to act as a living privacy screen that looks as good from my neighbour’s side as our side where it creates a lovely garden vignette.
I have two other large clumps on the edges of our dry river bed to help create a natural look, and another close to the house to help hide a downspout.
Miscanthus covered in fresh snow cover.
Miscanthus as a plant for winter interest
As fall and winter approaches, the purplish flower plumes so prominent in the summer landscape take on a creamy wheat colour followed by a silvery luminance that creates a dramatic presence when backlit.
These plumes rise high above the narrow, green leaves with white midribs and last well into winter.
The leaves of the grasses slowly take on a wheat-coloured look of their own for the winter.
An added bonus is that the plant is both pest and disease free and for woodland/wildlife gardeners deer and rabbit resistant. Birds are attracted to the spent grasses in winter where plenty of insects use it to overwinter. Smaller birds will also use the strong plume stems as perches in winter, especially in more open areas devoid of natural perches. They also provide excellent photographic opportunities when they are perched on the stems.
The plant is native to Asia and can be invasive in parts of the United States and other warmer climates, so check before you plant this potentially invasive grass.
Alternatives to Miscanthus Sinensis Gracillimus in areas where it is considered invasive include natives: Andropogon gerardii (Big Bluestem), Chasmanthium Latifolium (Northern Sea Oats), Panicum virgatum (Switch Grass), or Elymus hystrix (Bottlebrush Grass).
The foliage can be cut back in early spring (4-6 inches up from the base) before the new shoots begin to show themselves. Don’t worry if you leave it a little late, just cut the spent stems a little higher so you don’t cut off the tips of the new growth. It won’t be long before new growth covers last year’s dried stems.
I use a hedge trimmer with great success to cut down my ornamental grasses. A cordless model like this from Gardener’s Supply Company is is an excellent choice and will make the task much easier.
The spent stems can get quite thick and difficult to cut in the spring.
(Be sure to read my story on best way to cut back ornamental grass.)
One of our fountain grasses in full fall bloom (November) in morning sun.
Fountain grass: A compact ornamental grass
Pennisetum alopecuroides or Fountain grass has long been a favourite in the garden. These elegant grasses form the perfect, compact, mound making them a standout in both our front and back gardens.
The easy-care and natural look of Fountain grass (their are several hybrids including a dwarf variety which I use in our garden) makes it a must for any garden looking to add summer, fall and winter interest.
Like the name suggests, the growth habit creates a fountain-like appearance in late summer and fall when the pinkish seed heads emerge surrounding the entire densely clumped mound of fine grasses. Over time, the pinkish plumes turn a creamy tan colour where they remain into late winter providing delicate foliage displays well into the winter months.
The densely clumped growth provide ideal habitat for overwintering insects. Besides the insects and larvae that overwinter in the thick grass, I have seen goldfinches feeding on the seeds of the plumes late into winter when the grasses were the only vegetation still poking their heads out of the deep snow.
This perennial is easy to grow and maintain. Mine have self seeded in the garden, and I have also divided it in the spring after the plants’ centre died out.
Centre-die-out is common with many grasses after several years of growth. You will notice a circle of dead foliage forming in the centre of the plant. At this stage, simply dig out the clump of grass, divide it into several plants (usually 3 or four) compost the centre of dead grass and plant the three or four divisions. Within a short time, the divisions will recover and fit right in.
• If you are considering creating a meadow in your front or backyard, be sure to check out The Making of a Meadow post for a landscape designer’s take on making a meadow in her own front yard.
Fountain grass in full bloom with a smaller fountain grass to the left that doesn’t get the full sun and always struggle to bloom. Northern Sea Oats, with its coppery blooms, can be seen blooming in the top left corner.
Ideal container plants
These divisions are perfect to use in containers for a year or two where their compact growth makes them the perfect filler during the spring and summer months before graduating into thrillers during the fall. I have used it in our window boxes for a year, eventually transplanting it into a larger container for a couple of years before moving it back into the garden as a full-sized specimen.
There are several types of fountain grass you might want to explore including the popular annual – purple fountain grass – that can grow to 4 feet and put on quite the late-summer and show. Remember that it is an annual in all but the warmest growing zones and will have to be replanted in spring.
Another fountain grass to consider is the hybrid Karley Rose. Proven Winners has developed a beautiful specimen (PW Link here) that grows in zones 5-9 with upright clumps of graceful arching green foliage and impressive rose-purple plumes from early summer until frost. It grows up to 40 inches in height with a spread of between 24-36 inches.
In our garden, we have grown an earlier version of Karley Rose for about 10 years. While it performs admirably in both our front and back gardens, I find its growth habit is less compact than the less hybridized versions. Our dog, Holly, loves to role in it all summer keeping it untidy and not looking its best.
Northern Sea Oats takes centre stage in this window box planting. The grass has an almost bamboo look to it. Beside the Northern Sea Oats is a small clump of Little Blue Stem which also performed well in the window box before being moved to the back meadow garden.
Northern Sea Oats at home in the woodland garden
Chasmanthium Latifolium or (Northern Sea Oats) always reminds me of the seashore. I must have first seen the plant growing in the sand while I was at the beach. Now I get to relive that same experience almost daily in my own garden.
Northern Sea Oats is one of the most interesting of the fall grasses, with it’s hop-like seed heads that flutter in the breeze and turn a purple-bronze-brown in the fall. Leave the seed heads on for winter interest or cut them off to use in dried flower arrangements.
It’s a relatively low maintenance plant that likes full to part sun and grows down to zone 4a.
It works as an accent plant, in a mass planting, naturalized in a woodland garden or used as a border edging.
Northern Sea Oats will grow to about 4 feet with a spread of 30 inches. Its foliage, that stretches right to the ground, is elegant and grows in a loose clump.
Northern Sea Oats also work nicely in containers as a late-season thriller. In fact, I used them this year in our window box as the thriller and it worked well. (see photo above) The grasses are now in our back flower meadow spreading their seed heads around for next year.
Be careful with Sea Oats, the seed heads will sprout the following year where they fall. Last year, I cut some of the seed heads off to use as a backdrop for bird photography, and noticed that this year a number of new plants are growing up where the seed heads were left.
In conclusion
If you have not experimented with any ornamental grass yet, consider picking up the annual Purple Fountain Grass and use it in a garden location where you might want to plant some larger grasses. I’m almost certain you will be converted to the joy of ornamental grasses.
If you are trying to use only native grasses in the garden, you would do well to consider purchasing Little Bluestem or Big Bluestem as starting points. These clump-forming grasses are maintenance free, easy to grow and add a little blue to the garden scheme.
Another standout in the fall garden is Japanese Blood grass. It’s a stellar performer adding a pop or red to the late summer and fall garden. The green grass tips take on a pinkish red colour in late summer into fall adding a lovely pop of colour to the landscape. I use a little of it under a birch clump where it grows up through sedum and acts as the perfect backdrop to a school of Fish in the Garden. (You can see it in the attached video)