Hakonecloa Aureola

Simple Containers

 by Susan Tice

Colourful containers sprouted up everywhere when we moved to our current home and we suddenly had lots of sun. My long pent up desire for pots overflowing with petunias and other summer beauties could be indulged almost endlessly. A few years later, the novelty wore off a little – it was a lot of work to plant up all those pots every year; time to look at alternatives. Perhaps a single, perfect specimen instead of a riot of colour…

Hydrangea 'Paris'

Hydrangea ‘Paris’

A single specimen plant in a beautiful container has an elegance and grace all its own. For a single plant to shine it should have more than one ornamental feature and look great over more than one season. The size of the plant should be in proportion to the size of the container.   The shape of the plant, whether it be tall and upright, softly weeping or a formal round ball, should complement the shape of the container.

Hydrangea 'Bombshell'

Hydrangea ‘Bombshell’

Among other things, grasses, ferns and hydrangeas are particularly well suited to container growing and look more spectacular with each passing year.   Any of the new easy care, long blooming hydrangeas would look great in a nice pot. Try ’Limelight’, Little Lime’, ‘Bombshell’, ‘Pistachio’ or ‘Adria for example.

Hakonecloa 'Aureola'

Hakonecloa ‘Aureola’

Many grasses show well in containers with Japanese forest grass (Hakonecloa), fountain grass (Pennisetum) and feather reed grass (Calamagrostis) being particular favourites.   Evergreen ferns like sword ferns and Japanese Tassel Fern (Polystichum polyblepharum) take time to fill in, but are worth the wait.

Hosta 'Empress Wu'

Hosta ‘Empress Wu’

Consider perennials like Crocosmia or Kniphofia which have spiky foliage all season and showy flowers in mid-summer. I’ve always had hostas in pots and they look stunning when elevated and a small grouping can make quite a statement.

Specimen plants in containers can adorn a porch or patio or define an entry way. When placed around the garden or tucked into a bed, they become instant focal points.   Plus, you can move them around to cover up bare patches. A well-placed container looks like art and can hide all manner of problems!

There will always be petunias in my summer garden, but the pots filled with special plants will be there year after year, like reliable old friends.

Deschampsia cespitosa

Caring for Ornamental Grasses

By Laurie

 

Deschampsia cespitosa that was cut back in early spring

Deschampsia cespitosa that was cut back in early spring

Caring for Ornamental Grasses
Customers at the nursery are often asking about how to care for ornamental grasses. It can get confusing. Grasses don’t ask for much in terms of maintenance, but most do require cutting back and some need periodic division. This article summarizes when and how to do both. A basic rule of ornamental grass maintenance is to leave them standing over winter, and don’t mess with them until they are actively growing in early to late spring. Whether you are cutting back or dividing, it is generally best to wait until spring.

Cutting Back
Most of grass grooming involves cutting back, and when and how to cut back depends on the type of grass you have. Grasses are either cool season (temperate), warm season (tropical) or evergreen, and the rules change slightly for each.

Hakonacloa sprouting after being sheared back

Hakonechloa sprouting after being sheared back

When to cut back cool season grasses
These grasses grow in cooler weather (spring and fall) and they are the first ones to cut back in early spring. They can be cut back to about 1-3 inches after temperatures rise above freezing. In Victoria gardens this usually means mid-March, when the new growth is visible.

Deciduous cool season grasses to cut back at this time include CalamagrostisCarex elata ‘Bowles Golden’DeschampsiaElymusMillium, and MoliniaHakonechloa, Chasmanthium and Imperata Red Baron’ can also be cut back in early spring. (The latter are warm season grasses, but they start to grow early, in cooler temperatures.) Any broken flowering stems may be cut back within the foliage clump at any time (Calamagrostis, Stipa gigantea…).

Pennisetum 'Hamlin' - a warm season grass. Cut back to 3" in late spring after frost has passed, for that hedgehog look!

Pennisetum ‘Hamlin’ – a warm season grass. Cut back to 3″ in late spring after frost has passed, for that hedgehog look!

When to cut back warm season grasses
These grasses generally need warmth to grow (at least 20° C). So it is best to cut them back in late spring, after any threat of frost has passed, just as the new growth starts to show. Don’t wait too long to do this to avoid cutting the tips of the new growth with the old. Leaving the old foliage up too long can also delay the crown’s warming and growth by several weeks. All those lovely grasses that provided much appreciated buff-coloured winter structure in the garden need to be cut back to about 3 inches from the ground.
Warm season grasses needing this late spring hair cut include Miscanthus, Muhlenbergia, Pennisetum, Panicum Spartina,  Schizacrium, Arundo and Cortaderia.

It should be noted that some of these warm season grasses have better winter presence than others, and if you prefer a tidier look to your garden you may also cut back warm season grasses any time after they have gone brown in late fall.

How to Cut back
Shorter grasses look best when given a more rounded cut, rather than straight across. This ‘hedgehog’ cut will make for a more natural look when cropped, as well when the grasses grow back in. Taller grasses may be cut straight across. Their cropping is hardly noticed because of their robust growth.

Miscanthus cut flat in late spring

Miscanthus cut flat in late spring

Handy tools for cutting grasses include gloves, a bungie cord for bundling, a rake and tarp for gathering, and good hand pruners or shears for cutting. The larger grasses could require an electric saw or hedge shears and don’t forget to wear your gloves. Bundling the grasses with a bungie cord before cutting can simplify clean up. The narrow leafed Miscanthus varieties can be cut nicely with secateurs, starting from the outside and cutting back small sections at a time.

Carex comans (evergreen sedge) cut back by two thirds in spring

Carex comans (evergreen sedge) cut back by two thirds in spring

Grooming of Evergreen grasses
There are a few cool season grasses that remain evergreen to semi-evergreen in our milder climate. For the most part the only grooming they need is combing. Fescue, Helictotrichon (Blue Oat), Stipas and many Carex sedges (not a true grass), usually refresh from a simple comb through with fingers wearing rubber (catches the blades) golves or rake to remove the dead buff foliage which easily separates from the new growth in spring. Raking can also be repeated in summer to remove spent flowering stems.

Sometimes some evergreen grasses start to look shabby after a few years or harsh winter and may actually require a more drastic cutting back of all the old growth. The recommended time to do this is when the threat of frost has passed in April. This is when they are actively growing, but before there is a lot of new fresh growth. And never shear these grasses too low to the base; always leave about one third of the foliage in place.

Occasional cutting back to refresh a sad looking evergreen or semi-evergreen grass can be done in late spring on Luzula, Stipas, Anemanthele lessoniana (Pheasants Tail) and narrow leafed Carex sedges. Nassella tennuissima (Mexican feather grass) can be cut back in September to refresh green growth.

Dividing Grasses
Timing of when to divide grasses is important for successful root establishment. As a rule, all ornamental grasses should only be divided when they are actively growing and not dormant, and never while they are flowering. For cool season grasses this means spring, and for warm season grasses it is best to wait until late spring or early summer. Smaller grasses are divided just like any other perennial. Dig up the clump and then pry apart with your hands or cut with a knife or trowel.  Replant them before the roots dry out.

When grass clumps get too wide or full for their space it is time to divide and replant. After several years the centre of some of the grasses can die back and it is good to replant the fresher new growth from the outer edge of the clump. Once these fresher pieces have been removed from the clump, trim off any dead material and replant, remembering to water thoroughly. New grass divisions require frequent watering until they become rooted and established.

Larger grasses require a little more effort to divide because of their robust roots and crown size. Dig or pry the clump out of the ground with either a sharp shovel or crow bar. Divide into pieces using a shovel, axe or chain saw. Make sure that each division has viable root growth.

Ornamental grasses add interesting texture, movement, height and long season colour to our gardens. They are an essential complement to shrubs, trees, perennials and hardscape in the Westcoast landscape. A little annual maintenance prepares your grasses for another wonderful show.

 

Berberis

Seasonal Stars in the Garden

Do you find that there are times of year when your garden fades, when there is nothing stellar to notice and you have to say to guests “wait until fall (spring, winter or summer); my garden really looks good THEN!”
The secret to having a year-round beautiful landscape lies in planning ahead, cultivating plants which will shine during various seasons. There are few plants that truly are wonderful for all four seasons, but each time of year features those divas, stars, and yes even stalwart back-stage workers, to make yours a garden you can be proud of for 12 months of the year. The following is a list of only a few of our favourites. Please check with us for current availability. Trees may be tagged to hold for when they are ready in the fall.

SPRING

  • Alchemilla mollis (Lady’s Mantle) blooms are lime green in spring. Fresh foliage holds water droplets like diamonds.
  • Amelanchier alnifolia (Saskatoon Berry) native shrub, delicate white flowers, edible fruit.
  • Amelanchier x grandiflora ‘Autumn Brilliance’ a tree with four season interest, beautiful white flowers in spring, tasty black berries in summer, brilliant autumn colour.
  • Aronia (Chokeberry) three seasons of interest — spring flowers become black berries in summer, then outstanding fall foliage.
  • Berberis shrubs have four season interest.
  • Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’ and ‘Looking Glass’ have showy blue flowers and gorgeous foliage.
  • Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’ interesting upright, polite grass
  • The brilliant chartreuse flowers of many Euphorbias brighten the spring landscape.
  • Exochorda (Pearl Bush) pearl-like buds studded along branches.
  • Fothergilla flowering shrub, bright foliage in fall as well.
  • Grevillia ‘Canberra gem’ fresh new growth is very striking.
  • Magnolia stellata varieties bloom before leaves arrive.
  • Polygonatum (Solomon’s Seal) beautiful from spring until the last stems finally fade out in fall.
  • Spireas especially ‘Goldflame’ which has bright orange/gold foliage.
  • Viburnum plicatum varieties — a good structural shrub.

SUMMER

  • Adiantum pedatum (Maidenhair fern) delicate fronds atop wiry black stems.
  • Astilbe flowers add colour to shady areas.
  • Buddleia shrubs attract butterflies, hummingbirds and bees.
  • Cercis Canadensis (Forest Pansy) small tree with burgundy heart-shaped foliage.
  • Crocosmia many varieties, flowers are rich and vibrant shades of orange/yellow/red
  • Fuchsia many hardy varieties; all provide long lasting flowers in shade.
Hakonechloa (Japanese Forest Grass) varieties give colour and lovely texture in shade.
  • Hostas check out some of the newer varieties for pure zing!
  • Hydrangeas are at their best in late summer; many varieties to choose from.
  • Kirengeshoma collector’s plant, lovely in woodland settings.
  • Lilium; plant several varieties for continuous show of colour.
  • Magnolia ‘Oyama’ best magnolia foliage, later blooming.
  • Monarda ‘Jacob Cline’ (Bee balm); showy red blooms attract wildlife
  • Nepetas have grey mounding foliage and soft blue flowers. Cut back for second flush of
bloom.
  • Paeonia (Peony) summer flowers, autumn foliage colour, and deer proof too.
  • Philadelphus (Mock Orange) fragrant flowers in early summer.
Physocarpus (Ninebark) strong structure, colourful foliage.
  • Pyrus salicifolia (Weeping ornamental pear)
  • Robinia pseudoacacia ‘Frisia’ (Golden Locust) bright chartreuse foliage. We often sell out of this tree long before it’s ready to leave the nursery in September.
  • Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan, Gloriosa Daisy) a classic, old fashioned and tough. Many varieties.
  • Sambucus nigra ‘Black Lace’or ‘Black Beauty’ (Elderberry) shrub with glossy purple-black foliage.
  • Sedum ‘Dazzleberry’ has purple foliage and dark pink flowers
  • Spanish Olive shiny black olives, attractive leaves.
  • Stewartia considered a four-season tree.
  • Styrax japonicus ‘Emerald Pagoda’ (Japanese Snowbell Tree) graceful habit, good foliage and white blossoms in summer, followed by little green pear-shaped seeds.
  • Zanthoxylum piperitum (Japanese Pepper Shrub) interesting, fragrant foliage and deer resistant.

AUTUMN

  • Acer rubrum or for a smaller tree, the Japanese Maples; what can be more lovely in fall than a red-leafed maple?
  • Aconitum ‘Arendsii’ (Monkshood) has tall, saturated-blue flower spires that deer do not eat.
  • Anemone japonica perennial with tall stems of simple elegant flowers, spreads nicely in garden bed. A classic.
  • Aronia (Chokeberry) autumn leaves are like red embers in a campfire.
  • Blueberry not just for berries, this has gorgeous fall foliage.
  • Ceratostigma plumbaginoides (Dwarf Plumbago) blue flowers over red-tinged foliage.
  • Cercidiphyllum japonicum (Katsura Tree) a favourite for its fragrance of burnt sugar as the leaves dry in late summer.
  • Clematis terniflora (Sweet Autumn Clematis)
Cotinus very colourful fall foliage after a summer of beauty as well.
  • Euphorbia ‘Glacier Blue’ has lovely creamy foliage year round.
  • Fothergilla two seasons of intense beauty, shade tolerant shrub.
  • Helenium (Sneezeweed) brilliant red and rusty flowers from August through September.
  • Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’ elegant silver foliage grass. Miscanthus ‘Strictus’ has brightly banded foliage for an exotic look.
  • Pennisetum ‘Burgundy Bunny’ and ‘Piglet’ grasses have great “bunny tail” blooms from fall through winter.
  • Passiflora caerulea (Passion Flower Vine) very complex flowers, a must-see!
  • Perovskia (Russian sage) striking, ghost like foliage.
  • Schizostylus happy little spreading clump, flowers well into early winter.

WINTER

  • Acer griseum (Paperbark Maple) cinnamon coloured bark peels all winter, good contrast with evergreen shrubs and conifers. This is truly a four-season tree.
  • Betula (Birch) both Heritage and Fox Valley colourful, peeling bark that shows well in winter.
  • Cornus alba ‘Elegantissima’ (Red twigged dogwood) variegated leaves in summer, bright red twiggy stems all winter.
  • Corylus ‘Contorta’ (Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick) truly best in winter, with contorted and twisted bare stems wonderful in floral arrangements.
  • Cryptomeria interesting conifer with red-tinged soft foliage.
  • Epimedium surprisingly tough for such a delicate looking plant. Leaves take reddish hue in cold weather and make good cuttings at Christmas for arrangements.
Evergreen ferns Sword fern, Deer fern, Japanese tassel fern, and others add green to winter woodland.
Grasses left standing provide seeds for the birds as well as architectural interest in the landscape.
  • Grevillea ‘Victoria’s soft orange blooms attract hummingbirds in winter.
  • Hamamelis ‘Jelena’ (Witch Hazel) graceful shrub/tree for warm orange blooms in the darkest days of winter.
  • Hellebores blooms are unforgettable in winter, and they keep on flowering.
  • Mahonia ‘Charity’ and ‘Winter Sun’ taller shrub versions of Mahonia, tolerant of a variety of conditions, flowers in November.
  • Stewartia interesting branch structure when leafless.
  • Symphoricarpos ‘Alba’ (native snowberry) and ‘Amethyst’ purple berries.

By ensuring that there are a few outstanding plant varieties for each season, your garden will return your devotion and give you pleasure the whole year long.

sheared grass 1

Spring Cleaning Ornamental Grasses

The basic rule of ornamental grass maintenance is to leave them standing over winter and don’t mess with them until they are actively growing in early to late spring. They don’t require much care, but will benefit from some annual grooming and spring is the time to do it. Most of the grooming involves cutting back, and when and how to cut back depends on the type of grass you have.

The first ones to cut back are the cool season, deciduous grasses, and these can be cut back to about 3 inches after temperatures rise above freezing. In Victoria gardens this usually means mid-March, when the new growth is just starting to show.

Cool season perennial grasses include Calamagrostis, Carex elata Bowles Golden, Deschampsia, Elymus, Millium, Molinia and Cortaderia.

Hakonacloa Sprouting

Hakonacloa Sprouting

 HakonechloaImperata ‘Red Baron’ and Chasmanthium are deciduous grasses that start to grow in early spring at which time all the old foliage can be cleaned up.

Cutting back of warm season grasses is not done until late spring, after any threat of frost has passed and before the new growth starts to show. Don’t wait too long to do this to avoid cutting the tips of the new growth with the old. Leaving the old foliage up too long can also delay the crown’s warming and growth by several weeks. All those lovely grasses that provided much appreciated buff-coloured winter structure in the garden need to be cut back to about 6 inches from the ground.

Sheared Grass

Sheared Grass

These grasses will gradually start to grow back in from their “hedgehog” look and then really take off with summer heat. A more rounded cut rather than straight across can give a more natural look when growing back in.

Warm season grasses needing this late spring hair cut include Miscanthus, Muhlenbergia, Pennisetums, Panicums, Spartina and Arundo.

There are a few grasses that remain evergreen in our climate. For the most part the only grooming they need is combing. Carex, Fescue, Helictotrichon (Blue Oat) and Stipa usually refresh from a simple comb through with fingers or rake to remove the dead buff foliage which easily separates from the new growth in spring (this can be repeated in summer). Insert re-growing stipa

Some evergreen grasses start to look shabby after a few years or harsh winter and may actually require cutting back. The recommended time to do this is in late spring when the grasses are actively growing. And never cut too low to the base; always leave about one third of the foliage in place.

Anemanthele lessoniana (formerly Stipa arundinacea) (pictured here) seems to need a gentle hand and should be cut back to no lower than 6 inches. Broader leafed Carex ‘Ice Dance’ can be cut back to the ground and kept moist to refresh.

Handy tools for this job include gloves, a bungie cord for bundling, a tarp for gathering and a good saw or shears. A little spring grooming prepares your ornamental grasses for another wonderful show.

w 6 golden varietgated lir

Japan Through The Eyes Of A Canadian Gardener

Autumn in Japan may not have the caché of a springtime visit in cherry blossom time, but to a gardener it evokes every bit as much awe and delight.  And we have our own cherry blossom time right here in Victoria, don’t we?

Visiting family in Tokyo, I’ve had the pleasure of living the Japanese experience; the daily routine of walking everywhere, with the occasional train ride, subway crowds, or the ever-timely local bus.  These walks have allowed me to see close up, the small details of green spaces.

Wherever we go we find vignettes of beauty. The Japanese people seem to take any opportunity they can to create loveliness, whether with a small planting, or simply an artful arrangement of stones.

The little corners where sidewalk meets sidewalk speak to passersby “walk by this space, and enjoy”.

Small corner of two sidewalks

Tiny garden on a busy street corner

We are right across the street from Arisagawa Park, a green oasis of many acres that comprises bike trails, a small lake stocked with fish, the best playgrounds I’ve seen anywhere, and natural forests for exploration. As a gardener, my fascination lies in the flora, seeing details that never cease to please.  One of the delights of visiting the park is the array of sweet gestures of concern for all who walk here!

Warnings and gestures

Warnings and gestures

Harmful insects

The first thing to strike me was the respect for the aged here. Not only aged people, but aged trees! The careful support given to gnarly trunks is an art in itself.

Support for aged tree

Gentle support for branches

Not just a stake with a length of rubber hose to tie it to the tree, but a padded buffer between trunk and twine, to soften the contact. Respect, appreciation, and love for these elders of the land.

A grass-like plant that I saw everywhere is Liriope, either muscari or spicata, in all its forms: dark green, the golden variegated and the silver variegated.

Liriope ‘National Arboretum’

Golden variegated liriope

Liriope is frequently used in Japan not only as a superb ground cover, but as a buffer between shrubs and hard surface; a clipped hedge, then the liriope, then the sidewalk, the liriope being the softening touch between. Needing moisture and part shade, it’s a spreading grass-like perennial that does as well in our climate as it does in Japan.  Liriope ‘National Arboretum’ is used everywhere here as part of the small vignettes, a ground cover yet much more.  We sell this short, slowly spreading, curved, dark green grass in 4” pots, but I’ve never seen its beauty as I have here, and will be ordering more of it for the nursery in the spring.

General open nature of mature trees

During the recent inspiring talk by Louise Boutin at the nursery, she mentioned lifting and opening the limbs of trees and shrubs by selective pruning. Well, the Japanese have this down to a fine art; even large trees have been thinned this way, opening up the intriguing branches to light and view.
The use of bamboo is more than an art form here, it is an inspiration. Whether a bamboo grove, a bamboo forest, or a bamboo fence, bamboo is everywhere and it is a marvel.

Bamboo forest

Bamboo still growing is beautiful, but it continues its magic after being harvested and used as supports.

Maybe too much support here?

Whether it is thinned-out Nandina domestica planted and tied against an open bamboo fence, or wispy cedar hedging plants sparsely interwoven with the canes, bamboo provides the bones to support the green, providing a screen in even the narrowest of spaces.

Fences and trellises of bamboo are ubiquitous, and for some reason have captured my heart.

Bamboo fence enclosing

Note how evenly tied

The fascination with diverse styles and methods of tying these fences, trellises and supports led me on a search for traditional lashing, the heavy rough twine that is used for holding the bamboo canes together. This also led me to a book on the subject, and an obsession has taken root.  Walking for miles, wrong turns, (even Google maps can be wrong!) finally we found the sought-after Japanese garden center.  Traditional lashing was only part of my search; the garden center experience beckoned this gardener with promises of Japanese seeds, tools, and curiosity sated.

Keeping in mind the fact that most Tokyoites don’t have cars, nor yards, nor much space of their own, the garden center was not surprising in its tiny efficiency. It was  just a part of a large hardware store, on the second floor even, and very different from  Russell Nursery!

Garden center in Tokyo

Conifer section, note roses in background

I’m sure all of you have seen the traditional serene Japanese garden, so I’ll close with just a glimpse of the view outside my window in Tokyo, but I hope the small details described will give you the confidence to just try a few simple touches to bring the peace and beauty of the Japanese style to your own place of green.

Temple outside my window

pennisetum hamlin

Time To Cut Back

 

Pennisetum ‘Hamlin’ – a warm season grass. Cut back to 3″ in late spring after frost has passed, for that hedgehog look!

My garden is screaming for attention at this time of year. But I am ignoring the vast carpets of snap weed in my beds and going for the simple, straightforward and manageable task of cutting back my ornamental grasses. Even though my Miscanthus and Calamagrostis still look pretty interesting in a vertical straw-like sort of way I know it is time to cut them back.  I can deal with my grass grooming duties before the afternoon is over, but I am not so sure about the weeding. For more info on cutting back grasses refer to our website.