Panicum virgatum 'Cloud 9'
(Greg Speichert, Diana Grenfell) Blue Switch Grass has seed heads that
appear cloud-like, above stiff foliage. 72" high. Stiff, upright,
metallic blue leaves, turning yellow in fall. Full sun, good drainage,
very cold hardy. SUPERB! The tallest of the blue-grey leafed panicums and
a superb selection. EURO - 9.00
Panicum virgatum 'Dallas
Blues' (Plant Delights) To me, a "to die for" Panicum:
the leaves are blue-grey and dense like my personal favourite Prairie Sky
but when the flowers and seeds begin to bloom in a rich violet (similar
in colour to 'Squaw', my heart stops dead. Elegance supreme. None better.
But none for sale as yet.
Panicum virgatum 'Hänse Herms' (Zeppelin) Similiar to 'Rehbraun'
but shorter and redder in the fall.
Panicum virgatum 'Heavy Metal' (Greg Speichert, Diana Grenfell) A dull greyish
leaf colour with compact growth. EURO - 10.00
Panicum virgatum 'Northwind' A taller version of Heavy
Metal. new for us in 2002.
Panicum virgatum 'Prairie Sky' (Greg Speichert) My favourite! The bluest and most compact of
the blue-grey leafed Panicum that I have seen so far. One of my favourite
grasses of all time! Superb, wonderful, gorgeous, etc, etc... ! EURO
- 15.00
Panicum virgatum'Rotshtrahlbusch'
(Tann-Rüti) -------- EURO
6.00
Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah' (PlantDelights) - A superb
new selection of Panicum for red autumn colour!
Panicum virgatum 'Strictus' (Zeppelin)
A very useful landscaping grass with very vertical habitus that stays all
summer and into the winter, changing from a medium green with biscuit-coloured
panicles to an entirely beige-tan plant. Superb as a contrast to mounding
forms such as Pennisetum. EURO - 6.00
Panicum virgatum 'Squaw'
(Grounds) A fall-colour panicum selection, with the entire plant, including
seed heads, turning purple-ish in mid to late September. A very delicate,
billowing mist effect of light purple-grey-green until it turns beige late
in the fall. Superb, superb, superb! EURO - 10.00
Panicum virgatum 'Warrior' (Grounds)
Another fall-colour selection, this one is a good compliment to 'Squaw'
in that it turns predominantly yellow in the fall with the seed heads being
a light tan - beige with subtle yellow tints. EURO - 8.00
Pennisetum alopecuroides (Tann-Rüti) 80cm X 90cm, Fl. 1m. A very thin-leafed, mounding
grass that is drought tolerant, and tough though not invasive. The leaves
rise and recurve, touching the ground and the effect is like a huge head
of silky hair. One may need a saw or axe to divide the clumps. Blooms very
late for us (Sept.) EURO - 9.00
Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Gelbstiel' (Zeppelin) A superb dwarf Pennisetum, shorter
than Hameln, whith flower stems that mature a rich medium golden yellow,
contrasting well with the leaves. The verall effect is slender, yellow
lines radiating out of a mound of otherwise dull greyish green leaves.
Looked superb with bolder, golden yellow fall-flowering perennials like
Rudbeckia "Goldsturm' and the dwarf, yellow banded leaves of Miscanthus
'Hinjo'. EURO - 20.00
Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hameln' (Apple Court) 45cm X 60cm A much smaller
version of the species. In between alopecuroides and "Little Bunny'
Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Little Bunny' (2 (Greg Speichert) 30 x 45 A miniature pennisetum with typical leaf shape, but miniature
in appearance. Flower stems are a bit stiffer than in the large varieties.
A superb front of the border grass. EURO - 9.00
Pennisetum alopecuroides'Little
Honey' (Greg
Speichert) 30
x 45 A 'Little Bunny' sport with well variegated leaves. EURO - 25.00
Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Weserbergland' (Apple Court) 80 x 80 A floriferous selection with lots of autumnal hints in
the fall.
Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Woodside' (Apple
Court) 80 x 80
Pennisetum orientalis (Tann-Rüti & Zeppelin)
Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum' (Local nursery in Louisiana)
90 - 120cm X 50cm Purchased in Louisiana
at a local nursery, this pennisetum has outstanding dark purple colouration.
The plant display best growth in the greenhouse where we can reproduce
the intense heat and humidity of Louisiana. In the greenhouse, planted
in the ground, it forms a dusky purple fountain. Exquisite! Used as an
annual or container specimen. Dead at the first hint
of frost!!!
Phalaris arundinacea 'Feesey'
- a simply wonderful grass, adaptable to normal
garden settings, but loving moisture. Here in northern Italy in the wine-growing
area of the Piedmont where we have droughts that last all summer, this
grass must be watered heavily at least once a week. Better twice. In normal
soil with 2-weeks waterings, it forms the brightest clump of any grass
we own. The first growth tips are suffused pink and rose, then slowly mutate
to more and more white. In the end, the clump seems to be mostly white.
Flowering up to 1 m, the plants can be cut back to put on fresh, pink-fused
growth in mid-summer. Gorgeous. In a humid garden, it can spread strongly,
but is not invasive unless continuously wet and in light soils. EURO 5.00
Phalaris arundinacea 'Picta'
known since Medieval times, this bright grass
is boldly striped white along the edges. The most invasive of the brightly
variegated Phalaris arundinacea selections, becoming invasive if
planted in a light soil with a lot of moisture. In a normal garden setting
in Italy, with twice-weekly waterings this Phalaris
stays compact. The leaves burn if left dry for long, especially in
heat. A key difference between 'Picta' and 'Feesey' is the
very pink flush of colour in the new growth and that 'Feesey' is
mostly white and is centrally variegated whereas 'Picta' is only
bright green and white and is mostly marginally variegated. EURO 4.00
Phalaris arundinacea 'Streamline'
A very new addition to the three main forms of
variegated Phalaris arundinacea, this very compact-growing form is variegated
50%-50%, almost evenly. Each leaf is thinnly striped white, creating a
gentle frosted effect from a distance. This slightly columnar form looks
beautiful in association with Feesey as well as arching light-green grasses
such as Eragrostis curvula, Stipa tenuissima, Festuca
marinei, Pennisetum a. 'Little Bunny' and Stipa arundinacea.
EURO 5.00
Phragmites austalis 'Variegatus' - a vigorous margin plant, loves water and colonizes rapidly
the edges of streams and pools. The variegation is beautiful, creating
a soft play of pale lemon, near ivory-safron, green. Also good in pots
for a few seasons, set into small pools. --------
EURO 10.00
Pleioblastus viridistriatus (predominately yellow
with variable green stripes) (Apple Court) Short-growing (3') bamboo with predominately yellow leaves with
thin green stripes. Shouldn't be terribly invasive. A bright splash of
colour and texture.
Saccharum ravennae (often under Erianthus ravennae) (Fromefield) Ravenna Grass, a pampas
grass alternative in colder climates with summer heat. (Grounds) It seems
to like the baking of the American summers to grow and bloom well, only
making bedraggled clumps in Southern England. Produces numerous silvery
plumes above dense clumps of dark green, arching leaves from midsummer
and lasting well into the winter. Blooms for us to
almost 4 metres!! One of the most important of the giant grasses, remaining
tight clumps and yet forming giant columns of stalks in late summer - very
stately and majestic. Beautiful near Cordateria sell. 'Pumila'
and Miscanthus sin. Arabesque, Gracillimus, Malpepartus ed
all. EURO 10.00
Sorghastrum avenaceum
Indian Steel - another blueish selection of prairies
grasses with wider, coarser leaves than Panicums, with which they create
a contrast. -------- EURO 9.00
Spartina pectinata 'Aureovariegata' (Wisley) H
1.5-2m X 1.5 - 2m (4.5-6') X W 2.1m. Variegated Prairie Cord Grass, fountain-forming,
ribbon-like leaves edges golden that is better seen up-close than at a
distance. A spectacular fountain, architectural form. Taller here in Italy
than suggested in Roger Grounds' book, it thrives in full sun, in ordinary
garden conditions. grasses -------- EURO 9.00
Stipa brachytricum (Calamagrostisbrachytricum
or Acnatherum brachytricum)
Stipa arundinacea
(Rice Grass) A small, thin leafed,
rounded clump forming stipa that looks excellent in pots or in the front
of the border. In drought conditions or in the fall, this grass takes on
a rainbow of speckles in orange, russet red, reddish, olive, brown and
green. Beautiful in pots. A personal favourite. EURO 7.00
Stipa calamagrostis
(also under Lasiagrostis splendens)(Apple Court) A wealth of leaves, rising
from the base like an open fan, and then arching ever so slightly at the
tips, this Stipa blooms in large plumes of green, turning biscuit-tan later.
(80cm x 150cm)
Stipa capillata (Zeppelin)
Stipa barbata (pulcherrime f. nudicosta)(Zeppelin)
Stipa brachytricum ( Also known under: Calamagrostisbrachytricum and Acnatherumbrachytricum)(Fromefield) H 60 X W 60 (2' x 2'), Fl. 1.2 (4') Korean Feather
Reed Grass. Early to burst into growth in spring, with a slight bronze
infusion to the green, this grass forms at first a fountain of a loose
clump, later more of weeping form (Grounds - U.K.). In heat and intense
sun it is said to remain more upright. Should have dry-ish soil in full
sun. In late summer, showy feathery panicle are produced which last long.
A specimen grass. EURO - 4.00
Stipa calamagrostis (2) (also under Lasiagrostis splendens and Acnetherum
brachytrium) (Apple Court) 90cm (in flower?) X 1,m spread In continuous flower, thin, slightly
arching habitus, new flowers green, older ones biscuit coloured, full sun.
Stipa gigantea (Zeppelin) One of the most spectacular of grasses, yet not massive. from
a dense leaf mound of coarse, divergent foliage rise slender but strong
scapes topped with a filigree of blooms at about 6 foot. The blooms are
multibranched, the stems sway with every breeze but are not toppled....
A marvelous grass and treasure!!! -------- EURO 9.00
Stipa pennata
(Zeppelin)
Stipa robusta
(Apple Court)1,8m X 1m A tall
specimen, thin panicles are not easily seen against the sky or lighter
background, Leaf mound 90cm.
Stipa tenuifolia -
Stipa tenuissimaPony Tails (seed from Wisley) 65cm X 75 - 80cm. Bought as a seed selection under
the above name, this tenuissima is an elegant, mounding 'mop' of super-fine
medium green foliage, in continuous bloom from spring till frost. First
flowers are an acidy-green, the same as Alchemilla mollis which is in full
bloom when this Stipa starts. Many comments are made on this one in the
garden. My little girls want to comb it, it looks so much like a mop of
green hair. Full sun in ordinary soil, richer soil and higher levels of
moisture bring about a more lax form. Drought tolerant, loves heat and
sun. After initial acid-green flowers, the clump has a constant frosting
of biscuit-tan maturing flower heads. Perfect in poor soil and survives
our summer drought conditions with ease. -------- EURO 6.00
Uncinia rubra (2 - (Apple Court) 30cm (12") X 90cm (3') A dark brownish sedge-like
plant which produces red new growth. When kept in moist conditions in light
shade, the red is more predominate. I really like this detail grass when
its well-grown. The red isn't as predominant, of course, as Imperata 'Baron',
but the base of the leaves is a rich, dark red, turning brown within a
couple of inches, an effect that I find exquisite. (2000 - this was rather
a delicate grass that never started growing well. Died after 3 years of
sulking. Is it teneder?)
Zea mais 'Casa Rocca' - after
years of our own personal selection for more purple and reddish tones,
along with large splashes of white (the combination is beautiful!) we are
now selling seed packs of this annual grass. The cobs are almost uniformly
dark red. Up to 40% of each batch yields lesser variegated plants, so seed
should be sown in pots and a yearly selection made of only the best. All
seeds germinate pure green. After ca. 15 cms they begin to change in colour.
At which time the should be put in their final spot in the garden. Superb,
almost tropical effect. Makes dense, low clumps if trimmed low when about
20cm. Packet of 15 seeds - -------- EURO 5.00
ORNAMENTAL GRASSES
