Ground Breaking Banter - Rick
If you’ve joined us for previous episodes, you already know: Rick loves ornamental grasses. And given the location and nature of his garden here on the west coast of Michigan, they’re the perfect choice. Drought tolerant, deer resistant, sun-loving, they just have a natural fit in our already grassy dune landscapes. Plus, he loves the way they look and sound, and the extra interest they provide in winter:
Rick shares some of his favorite ornamental grass varieties; join us at the YouTube link above to hear our whole conversation.
Well, this is a toughie – obviously, we’re Proven Winners ColorChoice Shrubs, which means we sell only woody plants. In other words, if you cut the stem of a shrub, you’re going to see concentric rings like you think of with a tree. And grasses, which are monocots, are not woody. Ever. In fact, no monocots are woody plants. That might not mean a lot to just hear it that way, so let me put it in context: monocots include many members that we think of as trees, like palms, bananas, and dracaena (especially the one known as “dragon tree”) but none of these are actually trees. If you were to cut across the “trunk” of one of these plants, well, it’s very hard to do, because all that’s there is a bunch of fibers. While bananas do make concentric rings, they’re all separated because each one is a previous leaf base; palms and dracaena just show a mass of fibers with no organization.
So, instead, we’ll have to find a Plant on Trial that’s a good companion to grass, which is to say that it can take the same conditions: full sun and dry soil. We’re looking for something that’s heat and drought tolerant, of course, but then comes the question: do we opt for something that is also at peak when the grass is, or for something that maybe picks up the slack when grasses are at their worst, which is spring. For today’s plant on trial, we’ll go with the latter there and highlight Sister Redhead cytisus, also known as Scotch broom.
First, the elephant in the room: Scotch broom is invasive in some areas, notably the Pacific Northwest and the Southeast. However, Sister Redhead is part of our In Check program, plants that do not set or spread by seed, so it makes it a viable option. Second, there could hardly be two better matched plants in terms of their cultural needs: both require extremely dry soil and full sun. They are two plants that can also play very well together, as Scotch broom is characterized by thin green stems and tiny leaves which are indeed almost grass-like. In fact, the reason it has the name “Scotch broom” is because a single plant does indeed look like the business end of a broom, and brooms are made from straw or broom corn, usually, both of which are grasses.
One major difference, though: in spring, Sister Redhead explodes with hundreds of bright red pea-shaped flowers, each with a dab of yellow. So while your ornamental grasses are sitting there looking like stubble and you’re wondering if they’ll ever be beautiful again, there is a fabulous floral display to distract you. And this particular selection of Scotch broom will not set seed, so won’t become a pest.
Another important factor here is deer resistance, and ornamental grasses are of course one of the most deer resistant garden plants – so is Scotch broom. That’s why it’s in our Deer Proof program, so if you see this in your local garden center, it will be in that special Deer Proof container. Sister Redhead Scotch broom reaches 3-4’ tall and wide, is hardy to USDA zone 5 and heat tolerant through USDA zone 8. Despite is aggressiveness in some areas, in the Midwest, planting it in anything but very well-drained soil will give it an exceptionally short life.
If you’d like to add Sister Redhead Scotch broom – or any of the 320+ Proven Winners ColorChoice Shrubs – to your garden or landscape, you’ll find a list of local retailers here.
Gardening Mail Bag - Stacey
Congratulations – not only did your dogwood flower, it was also pollinated and formed a fruit! This is also related to plant maturity so is likely just due to the age of your plant. You didn’t say which type of dogwood you have – while our native dogwood, Cornus florida, will indeed set fruit, it’s pretty much just a small red seed. However, Korean dogwood, Cornus kousa, sets fruit that is far more likely to get noticed: Rick describes it as “spiky red soccer balls,” and that’s not far off. If your plant is indeed a Korean dogwood, know that the fruits are edible and actually taste pretty good – but do be warned they have a mealy texture and contain seeds, so while it’s worth taking at least a little nibble for the experience, make sure the fruit you pick is totally soft, red, and ripe for best flavor and don’t chomp into them for fear of landing on a seed.
One of the trickiest thing about hydrangeas – and especially recently planted panicle and smooth hydrangeas, like Incrediball – is that overwatering and underwatering both manifest as wilting. In my experience, the issue almost always is overwatering/poor drainage, but only you know how much water they are getting. The fact that some of your plants are also turning yellow suggests to me this is definitely an overwatering issue, and the yellowing is occurring due to nutrient loss from too much water. I would suggest that you cut way back on the water – now that it’s fall, plants need much less water so should not be kept on the same irrigation schedule as they were during summer. A thorough watering once a week to every ten days or even two weeks should be more than sufficient. I think that will solve your issue and that come spring, these plants will come back just fine. There is no need to dig them up and overwinter them in pots.
Do you have a question for us? We’re happy to help! E-mail us or use the contact tab above. Due to high volume, we may not get to your question, so if you need an answer quickly, please reach out via the Proven Winners website.
Branching News - Rick
- Where are the prickly seed capsules on Rick’s cannas disappearing to? It’s not leaf rollers or Japanese beetles or deer…..it’s squirrels!
- The next great frontier of home landscaping: Fridgescaping is sharply divisive.
- ArtPrize is an annual, international art competition in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It’s a celebration of conversations, experimentation, ideas, and inclusiveness. ArtPrize is free, open to the public, and to any artist working in the mediums of visual or experiential art who has work to enter and a venue eager to host that work. This year, Rick is exhibiting his drift lumber sculptures – see them at the Homewood Suites hotel downtown.
- This time of year, it’s hard not to notice burdock, Arctium minus. The clinging properties of its seed heads cling to clothing and fur, providing an excellent mechanism for seed dispersal; they also led to the invention of the hook and loop fastener. The VELCRO® brand of hook and loop was invented by a man named George de Mestral in the 1940’s while hunting in the Jura mountains in Switzerland.
- A newly listed house for sale in Southern California’s notoriously pricey realty market: half a house for half a million dollars.
