Page 14 - Free State Winter 2021

GROWING WITH EDUCATION A Ginny Rosenkranz
Grasses Add Accents and
Movement to the Landscape
all and winter brings cold temperatures down
from the north, which changes plants from the
Fvibrant greens of summer into soft tan to the
darkest brown. Grasses offer both the color change as
well as accents and movement into the landscapes.
There are so many beautiful grasses available and
many of them are native to our own North America.
Grasses like many plants have specialized over the
years so some thrive in the high heat of summer and
the freezing cold of winter on the Great Plains while
others have adapted to the wet swampy areas beside
streams and ponds. Native grasses offer strong roots
for erosion control, winter seed heads which feed native
birds and are visually attractive in the landscape. All
warm season grasses should be left alone during the
fall and winter to protect the root system, and then
cut back the dead foliage to the ground in late winter
before the new spring foliage emerges.
Andropogon gerardii or Big Bluestem is a warm season
grass that grew up on the open prairies, a clump
forming grass that grows 4- 6 feet tall, 2-3 feet wide and
thrives in full sun during the searing heat of summer,
turning red in the autumn then fading to a soft tan
for the bitter cold of winter. Big Bluestem thrives on
dry to medium well-drained soils, slowly developing a
strong and extensive root system that is very drought
tolerant. The strong stems hold the flattened arching
leaves that are almost an inch wide and 2 feet long.
Spring growth is grey green or blue green colors that
brighten to green with some red highlights. After the
first hard frost, the colors change again to bronze red
with lavender highlights. Summer brings the flowering
14 WINTER 2021 • Free State News
stems spearing up above the clump of leaves. Late
summer brings the flower clusters, which are purplish
in color and sectioned into 3 finger like parts that
resemble turkeys feet. These grasses with their strong
root system are excellent for erosion control and the
strong stems allow them to become graceful screens.
Big Bluestem grasses are winter hardy from USDA zones
4-9. There are cultivars that complement the species like
anthropogony gerardii ‘Dancing Wind’, which is shorter
than the species only reaching 4 to 5½ feet tall. The
color of the foliage is a yellow green with red highlights
that deepen in the autumn to deep scarlet. Andropogon
gerardii ‘Red October’ is slightly shorter than the species
with deep green leaves and red accents in spring and
summer to turn purple red in late summer and after
the frost a bright vivid red. The late summer flower
clusters bloom burgundy red. Andropogon gerardii
‘Blackhawks’ is also shorter than the species, growing
4-5 feet tall with dark green foliage that turns purple in
late summer and when the cooler nights begin in the
autumn the foliage turns such a dark purple it can
look almost black. Andropogon virginicus is a cool
season clump forming grass that has green flat pointed
blades that rise in tufts about 1 foot tall. Green flower
spikes can be up to 6 inches tall on top of stiff flowering
stems, which arch up over the foliage to 4 feet tall.
When the flowers mature to seeds, they sway and nod
gracefully from summer to autumn when the foliage
and seeds turn tan.
Schizachyrium scoparium ‘The Blues’ is a cultivar of the
Little Bluestem, an upright clump forming grass. It can
Photo page 15: Muhlenbergia capillaris Pink Muhly grass in breeze