This is our third and last article on new introductions to Hortech’s lineup in 2023. We we’ll focus on ornamental grasses/sedges and especially on Little Bluestem. I have to admit I have never used Little Bluestem in landscapes previously and found interest in them as they are a native, prairie grass. I recently got heavily involved in upland hunting….specifically pheasant hunting with the addition of a German Shorthaired Pointer in my life. In the future, I will be looking at using a lot of Little Bluestem to naturalize our family farm in the Thumb. Schizachyrium scoparium and its cultivars were named 2022 Perennial Plant of the Year. Please visit our blog about it at 2022 Perennial Plant of the Year – Thoms Bros Landscaping
EverColor Everillo Sedge – Carex oshimensis
EverColor® ‘Everillo’ Sedge brightens shady areas, adding a pop of lime and gold color to garden beds and containers! It has flowing foliage that forms an energetic mound of foliage. It’s evergreen in warmer climates, but even in colder zones, it continues to add texture through the winter. This easy-to-grow perennial is tolerant to a wide range of growing conditions! It grows best in part sun, but handles shade and some sun with ease. Though it prefers moist, well-draining soils, it can grow in dry and wet conditions too! Just make sure it doesn’t stay wet for too long.
Sedges are grass-like plants that can be found thriving in just about any environment, from woodlands to marshes, and even dry sand. Arching, spiky, mounding, compact or airy, their ornamental qualities and their many uses have made them increasingly popular in the designed landscape. This selection from the Evercolor® series has outstanding color and considered by some to be one of the best ornamental grass introductions in 2012. Discovered in a tissue culture laboratory in Ireland in August 2006 by Pat FitzGerald of FitzGerald Nurseries of Kilkenny, Ireland. Mutation of C. ‘Evergold’. If the tips of the leaves get wind-burn over the winter, they may be trimmed with scissors in the spring. This is a well-behaved plant. Clumps may be divided in early spring.
Feather Falls Sedge – Carex oshimensis
A tough-as-nails sedge that will work in lots of landscape conditions! This ornamental hedge grass survived trials at the grower’s farm in Australia. Feather Fall Sedge won’t burn, but also thrives in shady conditions. This carex is a medium-sized sedge grass with lots of variegation in the leaves. It’s also set-it-and-forget-it easy. After a season of regular watering, Feather Falls offers year-after-year texture, along with lots of wintertime interest. Put this decorative grass in the corners of your home or front garden, or use it to anchor your favorite beds. Add it to a mixed shade-loving container garden or window box for a designer-inspired look. Plant in a hanging basket and brighten up a covered porch or shaded patio. Can be used as a ground cover, too, though it shows to best advantage in containers and baskets, where its cascading habit can be shown to its best advantage. Easy to grow and deer resistant. Butterflies are attracted to Feather Falls and will visit your landscape regularly.
Little Bluestem – Schizachyrium scoparium
Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) is a North American and native, warm-season prairie grass that is growing in popularity ornamentally. The tinges of silvery-blue on the green stems and foliage, and its low-maintenance care requirements make this an attractive and adaptable choice as an accent in your borders. With a clumping habit, it also works well in rockeries or meadow garden settings, and the deep roots mean it can help prevent soil erosion. The purplish seed heads, stems, and foliage turn a copper-yellow shade in the fall, meaning it’s a great winter-interest ornamental grass. You can plant the seeds in spring or fall and they establish quickly.
Free Spirit Band of Gold
3 ½’ – 4’ full sun to light shade. Band of Gold is an exciting new Hortech introduction that is upright, non-flopping, colored a cheerful sky-blue until mid-August. Then, as if by magic, it sends up floral stems that are adorned with segments of alternating blue and gold. This is very “bambooey” looking and quite pleasing to the eye. Because of its unique stem coloration, we recommend using this plant in areas that are close to foot traffic, around patios, along walkways, around parking lots, and in garden beds. Its companions are endless and include Achillea, Agastache, Amsonia Crocosmia, Echinancea, Helenium, dayliles, Helianthus, Nepeta,
Exclamation Point Little Bluestem
Exclaimation Point® takes its name for how it punctuates the growing season- by coloring up with flecks of purple and maroon. But it is fabulous during spring and summer and is immediately recognizable for its pincushion-like foliage arrangement. It’s not prickly, but is neatly arranged and colored steel blue and is unbothered by wind and rain. Exclaimation Point® is very hardy, looks beautiful in large plantings as a colorful ground cover, and combines with endless companions. Average mature height of 2 ½ feet.
Blue Arrow
We consider Blue Arrow® to be the “Blue Standard” of little blue stem. It is gorgeous spring to fall, stands upright in strong winds and rain, and has an authentic Prairie Proud® quality about it. The foliage is colored a crisp steel-blue from spring through fall, is densely set and somewhat spiky in spring, and is carried in the shape of a broad arrow. Above these, during August-October, are lovely flower spikes which move about in the wind. Average mature height of 2 feet.
Tall Arrow
Tall Arrow® is Hortech’s tallest little bluestem with foliage to 3-feet and flowers reaching 6-feet! Despite its height, it stands up in wind and rain and always looks nice with clear blue foliage. Tall Arrow® can be used in grand sweeping beds, as an accent, or as a stately dwarf hedge.
