• easy architectural grass for all season interest
• deer resistant – have never touched any I know
• will grow larger but not spread with rhizomes
• easy going, grows in many different soils
• best in quality loam but tolerates clay and sandy soil
• not prone to disease or insects
• Makes an informal hedge when planted in rows
• sways and rustles in the wind

A mass planting in Kamloops B.C. Closely planted to reduce weed control.

I was never a grass fan until I discovered garden designer Piet Oudolf’s prairie plantings. This grass has so many advantages, low maintenance, deer and bug resistant, grows in most soils, hardy and commanding presence. Most of all, it has year round interest and looks stunning in snow. All these reasons are why so many municipalities now use it in their landscaping. There are two maintenance rules to remember – leave through winter and cut down almost to ground level at the end of March. Some people choose to cut it down in the fall but I think it is a shame to lose its winter interest. You may need heavy duty shears or a hedge trimmer. Just shear it off. How it looks in winter will be determined by the weather. A light dry snowfall will enhance its architectural qualities. A heavy wet snowfall may bend the tops over but it may recover or it might remain bent over. No worries, just leave it until March. The other item of maintenance is splitting the clump. After about five years a clump of ‘Karl Foerster’ will get hollow in the middle and it is time to divide it. This job is not quite so easy as shearing in the spring and there are several ways to tackle it. After five years the clump will become woody. It can be dug up and cut with spade, perennial dividing knife or chainsaw. It could also be divided with the some of same tools while in the ground. One clump will need to be left but the others, two or three from one plant can be transplanted or given away.

The photographs above were taken in Cranbrook, Kamloops and Victoria B.C. Mass plantings are very effective as in the photo of the traffic island, adjacent to the Johnson Street Bridge in Victoria, where the grasses were surrounded by another workhorse, Perovoskia or Russian Sage. In the last picture from Kamloops, it is planted in combination with Iris, Cedar and annuals. It is a shame in my opinion in Cranbrook that some of their plantings have now been removed.