Ornamental Grass Demonstration Planting

Farm Progress Reports 2017 Report Issue 1 2017 Farm Progress Reports Number RFR-A1724 2018 Ornamental Grass Demonstration Planting Tim Dalsgaard Iowa State University Cynthia Haynes Iowa State University, Nick Christians Iowa State University, Adam Thoms Iowa State University, Ben Pease Iowa State University, Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/farmprogressreports Recommended Citation Dalsgaard, Tim; Haynes, Cynthia; Christians, Nick; Thoms, Adam; and Pease, Ben (2018) "Ornamental Grass Demonstration Planting," Farm Progress Reports: Vol. 2017 : Iss. 1 , Article 54. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31274/farmprogressreports-180814-2033 Available at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/farmprogressreports/vol2017/iss1/54 This Horticulture Station is brought to you for free and open access by the Extension and Experiment Station Publications at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Farm Progress Reports by an authorized editor of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact . Iowa State University, Horticulture Research Station ISRF17-36 Ornamental Grass Demonstration Planting RFR-A1724 glauca, Elijah Blue; Miscanthus sinensis, Strictus; Miscanthus sinensis, Silberfeder; Miscanthus sinensis; Schizachyrium scoparium, The Blues; Helictotrichon sempervirens, Saphirsprudel; Calamagrostis acutiflora, Karl Foerster; Calamagrostis acutiflora, Overdam; Miscanthus sinensis, Adagio; Pennisetum alopecuroides; Panicum virgatum, Heavy Metal; Panicum virgatum, Shenandoah; Molinia caerulea arundinacea, Skyracer; Deschampsia cespitosa, Bronzeschleier; Bouteloua curtipendula; Andropogon gerardii; Erianthus ravennae; Phalaris arundinaceae, Strawberries & Cream; Schizachyrium scoparium, Blue Heaven. Two of the 21 have yet to be planted and they include a second cultivar of Deschampsia cespitosa and Miscanthus floridulus, Giganteus. Tim Dalsgaard, graduate research assistant Cynthia Haynes, associate professor Nick Christians, university professor Adam Thoms, assistant professor Ben Pease, research associate Department of Horticulture Introduction In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the performance of ornamental grasses in the turfgrass industry. For several years, feedback from the annual Turfgrass Field Day has been that attendees want to see various ornamental grasses at the field day. This planting was designed to give those interested in ornamental grass performance an idea of how the grasses look at various times of the year, the spread of the grasses, and to demonstrate their winter hardiness. It also was designed for classroom purposes, specifically for plant identification and landscape design classes. Results and Conclusion No data was collected on this planting in 2017 as plants establish to this site. Observations will be made in 2018 on how many survive the winter and how well plants establish after a full year of growth. Some of the plants are considered marginally cold hardy in central Iowa, and it will be interesting to see if those plants survive the winter. Materials and Methods This planting is located at the Iowa State University Horticulture Research Station, Ames, Iowa, and was designed so grasses were planted according to mature plant heights. The plots were arranged with potential mature grass height increasing from south to north (Figure 1). There are 21 different grasses in this planting ranging from 2-10 plants/10 ft2. Plants include Festuca Acknowledgements Appreciation is extended to the Iowa Turfgrass Institute for financial support of this project. 41 Iowa State University, Horticulture Research Station Miscanthus sinensis Adagio Alley ISRF17-36 Erianthus ravennae Alley Miscanthus floridulus Giganteus Alley Miscanthus sinensis Silberfeder Pennisetum alopecuroides Miscanthus sinensis Alley Calamagrostis acutiflora Overdam Alley Miscanthus sinensis Strictus Alley Andropogon gerardii Alley Calamagrostis acutiflora Karl Foerster Panicum virgatum Heavy Metal Panicum virgatum Shenandoah Alley Schizachyrium scoparium The Blues Alley Molinia caerulea arundinacea Skyracer Alley Schizachyrium scoparium Blue Heaven Alley Deschampsia cespitosa Bronzeschleier Deschampsia cespitosa Phalaris arundinaceae Strawberries & Cream Alley Festuca glauca Elijah Blue Helictotrichon sempervirens Saphirsprudel Bouteloua curtipendula N↑ Figure 1. Plot plan of ornamental grass demonstration planting at the Iowa State University Horticulture Research Station, 2017. 42  (...truncated)