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May 1 to Sept. 30

Mon
9:00 - 6:00
Tues
9:00 - 6:00
Wed
9:00 - 6:00
Thurs
9:00 - 6:00
Fri
9:00 - 6:00
Sat
9:00 - 6:00
Sun
9:00 - 6:00
Fact Sheets
BOTANICAL NAME COMMON NAME

GRASS - Alopecurus pratensis 'Aureovariegatus' YELLOW FOXTAIL
GRASS - Arrhenatherum bulbosum 'variegata' BULBOUS OAT GRASS
GRASS - Bromus inermis 'Skinner's Golden' SKINNER'S GOLDEN BROME GRASS
GRASS - Calamagrostis acutiflora ' Overdam' VARIEGATED REED - 'Overdam'
GRASS - Calamagrostis brachytricha KOREAN FEATHER REED
GRASS - Calamagrostis x acutiflora ' Karl Foerster' FOERSTER'S FEATHER REED
SEDGE - Carex buchananii NEW ZEALAND LEATHER LEAF SEDGE
SEDGE - Carex comans ' Bronze' NEW ZEALAND HAIR SEDGE
SEDGE - Carex conica 'marginata' (variegata') MINIATURE VARIEGATED SEDGE,
SEDGE - Carex glauca BLUE SEDGE
SEDGE - Carex ' The Beatles' MOP-HEADED SEDGE,
SEDGE - Carex muskingumensis PALM BRANCH SEDGE,
SEDGE - Carex oshimensis 'Evergold'
SEDGE - Carex siderostica'Variegata'
SEDGE - Carex siderostichca 'Island Brocade'
GRASS - Chasmanthium latifolium NORTHERN SEA OATS
GRASS - Deschampsia caespitosa 'Bronzeschleir' BRONZEVEIL HAIRGRASS
GRASS - Deschampsia caespitosa 'Northern Lights'
GRASS - Festuca glauca (ovina 'Glauca') BLUE FESCUE
GRASS - Festuca glauca 'Boulder Blue'
GRASS - Festuca glauca 'Blaufink' GRAS
GRASS - Festuca glauca 'Elija Blue'
GRASS - Festuca glauca 'Skinner's Blue'
GRASS - Glyceria maxima ' Variegata ' VARIEGATED MANNA GRASS
GRASS - Hakonechloa macra ' Albo-striata ' VARIEGATED HAKONE GRASS
GRASS - Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola'
GRASS - Helictotrichon 'Saphiresprudel' BLUE OAT GRASS,
GRASS - Helictotrichon sempervirens. BLUE OAT GRASS
GRASS - Leymus arenarius (elymus glaucus) BLUE LYME GRASS,
RUSH - Luzula nivea SNOWY WOOD RUSH
RUSH - Luzula sylvatica ' Select' GREATER WOOD RUSH
GRASS - Miscanthus oligostachyus purpurascens FLAME GRASS
GRASS - Miscanthus sacchariflorus
GRASS - Miscanthus sinensis 'Autumn Light'
GRASS - Miscanthus sinensis 'Graziella' GRASS, JAPANESE SILVER GRASS, - 'Graziella'
GRASS - Miscanthus sinensis 'Malepartus' JAPANESE SILVER GRASS,- 'Malepartus'
GRASS - Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light' JAPANESE SILVER GRASS,- 'Morning Light'
GRASS - Miscanthus sinensis 'Puenkchen' JAPANESE SILVER GRASS, - 'Little Dot'
GRASS - Miscanthus sinensis 'Sarabande' JAPANESE SILVER GRASS, - 'Sarabande'
GRASS - Miscanthus sinensis 'Silberfeder' JAPANESE SILVER GRASS, - 'Silver Feather''
GRASS - Miscanthus sinensis 'Silberspinne'
GRASS - 'Miscanthus sinensis 'Strictus'
GRASS - Miscanthus sinensis 'Variegatus' VARIEGATED JAPANESE SILVER GRASS,
GRASS - Miscanthus sinensis 'Zebrinus' ZEBRA GRASS, - 'Zebrinus'
GRASS - Molinia caerulea arundinacea 'Moorehexe'
GRASS - Molinia caerulea arundinacea 'Sky Racer' TALL PURPLE MOOR GRASS -
GRASS - Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Ebony Knight'
GRASS - Panicum virgatum 'Cloud Nine' SWITCH GRASS - 'Cloud Nine'
GRASS - Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah
GRASS - Panicum virgatum 'Heavy Metal' SWITCH GRASS - 'Heavy Metal'
GRASS - Panicum virgatum 'Prairie Sky' SWITCH GRASS - 'Prairie Sky'
GRASS - Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hameln' FOUNTAIN GRASS - -'Hameln'
GRASS - Pennisetum setaceum
GRASS - Pennisetum setaceum rubrum PURPLE LEAVED FOUNTAIN GRASS -
GRASS - Phalaris arundinacea ' Feesey's Form ' REED CANARY GRASS ' Feesey's Form ' -
GRASS - Phalaris arundinacea ' Picta ' VARIEGATED REED CANARY GRASS - (RIBBON)
SEDGE - Phormium ' Bronze ' NEW ZEALAND SEDGE
GRASS - Schizachyrium scoparius LITTLE BLUESTEM,
GRASS - Sorgastrum 'Indian Steel'

You can also visit www.gramineae.com for much more information on ornamental grasses. This is a U.S. wholesale nursery that has placed many photos and cultivation information on their site. It is a worthwhile visit. They have a page on hardiness which we, in Ottawa, can deviate from. Their nursery and general experience is in locations where snow cover is not as great as here (except for our unusual 1999- 2000 winter ). Many of the plants listed for Zone 5 (USDA) in their list survived well in our gardens even after the unusual 1999- 2000 winter.

Ornamental Grasses Growing at Reilly’s Country Gardens

We currently grow over 75 varieties of perennial ornamental grasses in our Zone 5(a) (USDA Zone 4) gardens.

The following is a listing of ornamental grasses by their desirable traits.

For a listing of ornamental grasses available at our nursery click here. (This link is inactive until May 1.)

Grasses for Sun

Briza media (Perennial Quaking Grass) (ground cover possibility)
Bouteloua gracilus (Mosquito grass)
Bouteloua curtipendula (Side Oats Grass)
Calamagrostis acutiflora (Feather Reed Grasses): ‘Stricta’, ‘Overdam’, & ‘Foerster’s’ (ground cover possibility)
Deschampsia caespitosa (Tufted Hairgrass) (ground cover)
Festuca glauca varieties (Blue Fescue) e.g. ‘Blaufink’, ‘Elijah Blue’, ‘Meerblau’, ‘Solling’, ‘Skinner’s blue’ (ground cover possibility)
Festuca tenuifolia (ground cover possibility)
Glyceria maxima (Manna Grass) - needs moist soil if grown in full sun.
Helictotrichon sempervirens (Blue Oat grass) (ground cover possibility)
Koeleria glauca (Large Blue Hairgrass)
Leymus arenarius (Blue Lyme Grass) - invasive in sandy soil.
Miscanthus sinensis (Maiden Grasses): ‘Silberfeder’, ‘Graciella’, 'Grosse Fontaene', 'Gracillimus', 'Autumn Light',‘Morning Light’, ‘Malepartus’, 'Sarabande', ‘Yaku Yima’, ‘Variegata’, 'Zebrinus'.
Misacanthus floridulus (giganteus)
Miscanthus purpurascens
Miscanthus saccariflorus
(Silver Banner Grass)
Molinia caerulea subsp. arundinacea
‘Skyracer (‘Skyracer’ Tall Moor Grass)
Molinia caerulea ‘Variegata’
(Variegated Moor Grass)
Panicum virgatum
spp., ‘Strictum’, ‘Heavy Metal’, 'Rehbraun', 'Rotstrahlbusch', 'Squaw', ‘Warrior’,
Pennisetum alopecuroides
(Fountain Grass) spp., 'Hameln'- recommended as an annual but we get some overwintering (ground cover)
Pennesetum setaceum - grown as an annual
Pennisetum setaceum rubrum (Purple-Leaved Fountain Grass) - grown as an annual

Tall grasses for specimen clumps or massed as backdrops

Calamagrostis (Reed Grass) varieties:- C. acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’, C. arundinacea ‘Overdam’, & C. canadensis (Canada Blue Joint)
Miscanthus
(Silver Grass) varieties (best planted in spring): M. purpurascens (Flame Grass), M. sacchariflorus ‘Robustus’, M. sinensis ‘Gracillimus’, & M. sinensis ‘Malepartus’
Panicum (Switch Grass)
varieties (best planted in spring): P. virgatum spp., ‘Heavy Metal’ & ‘Warrior’

Short clump-forming varieties for edging purposes

Festuca (Fescue) varieties: F. glauca (Blue Fescue) (often labelled as F. amethystina), F. ‘Elija Blue’, Skinners Blue, Blaufink, and F. tenuifolia (Fine-leaved Fescue)
Helictotrichon sempervirens (Blue Oat grass)
Koeleria glauca (Large Blue Hair Grass)

Grasses for Light to Medium Shadel

Arrhenatherum elatius spp. bulbosum ‘variegatum’
Briza media
Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’
Calamagrostis brachytricha
Carex species
Chasmanthium latifolium (Northern Sea Oats)
Deschampsia cespitosa and all cultivars
Festuca tenuifolia
Hakonechloa macra and cultivars
Luzula nivea (Snowy Wood Rush)
Luzula sylvatica (Greater Wood Rush)
Miscanthus sinensis ‘purpurascens’
Molinia caerulea subsp. caerulea and all cultivars
Phalaris arundinacea and all cultivars
Spodiopogon sibericus

Grasses as Ground Cover in Part or Full Shade (with moisture)

Carex morrowii ‘Variegata’
Carex plantaginea
Luzula nivea & cultivars
Luzula sylvatica & cultivars
Phalaris arundinacea variegata

Drought tolerant varieties

Arrhenatherum elatius ssp. bulbosum ‘variegatum’
Bouteloua curtependula
Bouteloua gracilis
Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’
Leymus racemosus
Festuca amethystina ‘Superba’
Festuca cinerea
Festuca glauca
Helictotrichon sempervirens
Koeleria glauca (Large Blue Hair Grass)
Miscanthus sinensis 'Gracillimus'
Miscanthus sinensis 'Graziella'
Miscanthus sinensis 'Malepartus'
Panicum virgatum & cultivars
Phalaris arundinacea 'Feesey' & 'Picta'
Spodiopogon sibericus

Moisture tolerant varieties

Alopecurus pratensis ‘variegata’
Calamagrostis canadensis (Canada Blue Joint)
Calamagrostis acutiflora 'Karl Foerster'
Carex species - most
Chasmanthium latifoliium
Deschampsia cespitosa and all cultivars
Glyceria maxima ‘variegata’
Luzula species - all
Miscanthus floridulus
Miscanthus sacchariflorus
Miscanthus sinensis - most cultivars
Molinia caerulea spp. arundinacea and all cultivars
Panicum virgatum - most cultivars
Phalaris arundinacea and all cultivars
Typha latifoli

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