Bluestem Nursery

Gardening at High Elevation, in New Mexico

2012-01-15T17:29:00.000-08:00

Gardening at 5000 feet in elevation in Albuquerque, NM presents some unique challenges:

· Negligible precipitation: 7-8 inches on average annually.
· Radical daily temperature fluctuations. A 40 degree swing in a day is normal, but up to 60 degree fluctuations occur from time to time.
· Intense sunlight and heat: summer temperatures of at least 90 to 100 degrees and blinding UV year-round.
· Soil lacking organic matter.
· Fiercely dry winds.

In my experience, grasses take this environment in stride. Not surprisingly, Albuquerque and much of New Mexico were once vast grasslands. Of the 29 ornamental grass genera offered by Bluestem, 20 of them (species thereof) are recommended in our New Mexico-specific gardening books and nursery catalogs/websites (see list below). The remaining 9 require either cool temperatures, significant moisture, shade, or acidic soil, or a combination thereof, conditions that do not occur naturally in most gardens here. New Mexico is a large state with many varied microclimates, however, and the intrepid gardener in a mountain or riparian setting, where it is cooler, moister, and/or shadier, might find success growing these more tender grasses (though some extra TLC could be required).

part of Sara's beautiful garden

With the exception of native New Mexican plants, ornamental grasses are the most reliable and hardy group of plants that I have used in my garden. One must remember, however, that they are not (typically) native and will require more thought as to location in the garden and water needs. Before ordering, be sure to consult local gardening resources (books, websites, nurseries, extension services, etc…) as to the particular species and its use and care. If you provide for the needs of the particular grass, however, you will be rewarded with year-round textural interest, a beautiful visual counterpoint for your perennials, and a lovely performance as the grass dances in the wind.

Ornamental grass genera, species thereof, known to grow in New Mexico or parts of New Mexico are (check local resources on particular species):

Thanks to Sara Douglas Scott for submitting this information.

Growing Grasses in Calgary, AB - Part 2

2011-08-28T22:53:00.000-07:00

List of ornamental grasses suitable for the Calgary climate:

· Andropogon gerardii
· Bouteloua curtipendula
· Bouteloua gracilis
· Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’, 'Overdam', 'Avalanche'
· Calamagrostis epigejos
· Carex grayi
· Carex muskingumensis
· Deschampsia cespitosa ‘Pixie Fountains’, ‘Goldschleier’, ‘Goldtau’
· Elymus cinereus
· Festuca idahoensis 'Siskiyou Blue'
· Helictotrichon sempervirens
· Koeleria pyramidata
· Luzula sylvatica
· Miscanthus sinensis var. purpurascens
· Panicum virgatum
· Panicum virgatum ‘Rotstrahlbusch’, ‘Squaw’
· Phalaris arundinacea ‘Feesey’
· Schizachyrium scoparium
· Sorghastrum nutans

List of grasses that may succeed with extra protection in Calgary’s climate:

· Alopecurus pratensis ‘Aureovariegatus’
· Carex flacca
· Carex muskingumensis ‘Oehme’
· Carex pendula
· Festuca glauca ‘Select’, ‘Elijah Blue’
· Luzula nivea
· Miscanthus ‘Giganteus’
· Miscanthus sinensis ‘Blutenwunder’, ‘Gracillimus’, ‘Malepartus’, ‘Silberfeder’, ‘Strictus’, ‘Yaku Jima’
· Molinia arundinacea
· Molinia caerulea
· Molinia caerulea ‘Variegata’
· Panicum virgatum ‘Heavy Metal’, ‘Prairie Sky’, ‘Shenandoah’
· Sesleria caerulea
· Sesleria heufleriana
· Sporobolus heterolepis
· Stipa brachytricha

Growing Grasses in Calgary, AB - Part 1

2011-08-27T11:55:00.000-07:00

Calgary's Gardeners Deal With a Very Challenging Climate

Fortunately there is an ample selection of grasses for the challenging conditions in the Calgary area, as proven both by controlled hardiness trials at various universities and by the more prosaic trial-and-error methods used by nursery growers and home landscapers.

Below are descriptions of six of the best grasses for the Calgary area. A list of specific grasses will follow in a separate post.

Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ (Feather reed grass): This hardy, narrow and tall (up to 2 M), cool-season grass grows to its fullest potential in open, sunny areas with extra water during dry spells. However, it is very adaptable and can also be grown in partial shade in a variety of soil types and moisture levels. A single ‘Karl Foerster’ plant makes a striking specimen, but they can also be used to more dramatic effect in greater numbers. A swath of them planted along a border becomes a kinetic weathervane as their upright flowers dance in a breeze.
Follow this link to view further info about "Calamagrostis Karl Foerster" on our website.

Deschampsia cespitosa (Tufted hair grass): In terms of growing conditions, the many forms of Tufted hair grass are similar to ‘Karl Foerster,’ and the two grasses are often planted together. Boasting names such as ‘Bronze Veil,’ ‘Gold Veil,’ and the smaller ‘Gold Dew,’ they reveal Deschampsia’s versatility and charm. Like ‘Karl Foerster’ they start blooming in late June and their flowers persist into winter. Their blooms are large but are so finely textured that they resemble a sublime haze of gold floating above foliage. Both ‘Karl Foerster’ and the green-leaved varieties of Tufted hair grass are great choices that can hold their own against Calgary’s winters.
Follow this link to view further info about Deschampsia on our website.

Carex muskingumensis (Palm sedge) and Luzula sylvatica (Greater wood rush): Even though much of Calgary is dry and sunny, many shady areas occur around buildings and taller vegetation. These niches that have lower light levels are appropriate places to plant Palm sedge and Wood rush. Neither plant is a true grass, but both are good choices for handsome, winter hardy plantings.

Palm sedge (up to 1 M tall) is adaptable, but in natural conditions it favors moist (even wet) areas when it is growing in full sun; in shadier locations it tolerates drier conditions. It is often used in landscaping to display its palm-like foliage which nicely complements perennials with large leaves such as Hosta.

Follow this link to view further info about Carex muskingumensis on our website.

Wood rush is a slow-to-establish small plant that is useful for lightly to moderately shaded areas. Although some protection from winter winds is helpful for reducing dieback of the tips, it is somewhat amazing that Greater wood rush maintains its green color year-round. Also, once it settles in and its roots spread, wood rush is a very tough plant for shade. Its fibrous root system allows it to become a weed-proof groundcover that can handle a fair amount of drought (larger plants are produced if the soil around them isn’t allowed to dry out).
Follow this link to view further info about Luzula sylvatica on our website.

Schizachyrium scoparium (Little bluestem): Native to mixed grass prairie habitat, Little bluestem (50-100 cm tall) is an excellent choice for just about any sunny garden in Calgary. Its fountain of narrow leaves is appealing year-round. The most commonly grown variety – both for hardiness and ornamental qualities – is ‘Blaze,’ whose name conjures an image that captures its fall colour. For a combination that will produce decades of enjoyment, plant large drifts of Little bluestem around groupings of Pinus flexilis (Limber Pine), which grows wild in this region.

Follow this link to view further info about Schizachyrium on our website.

Miscanthus sinensis (Chinese silver grass and various other names): If you took a survey of what ornamental grass first captured the public’s attention, the majority would probably say Miscanthus – this wouldn’t be surprising, given Miscanthus’s stunning visual presence and its physical stature, which is closer to shrubs than perennials. Its various cultivars and species come in a range of sizes but they tend to be medium to large. To grow the best specimens it is important to consider micro-climates: The ideal position is a sheltered area that receives at least six hours of summer sun; a good location would be near a southwest-facing wall that reflects extra sunlight in summer and retains some radiant heat in winter. All of the many varieties of this grass are quite attractive, but Miscanthus sinensis var. purpurascens merits special mention: It is winter hardy, its reddish-green foliage and fall color are alluring, and its smaller size allows it to be mixed in with other perennials without overwhelming them.

Follow this link to view further info about Miscanthus on our website.

Planting Our Bare Root Plants & Plugs

2011-04-28T22:46:00.000-07:00

Many of our customers order the bare root Miscanthus plants, particularly Miscanthus Giganteus. Just in case you don't know how to plant it, I have a picture of one below. The green line indicates the soil level. There should be a point where the stalk changes from light to dark. That is the previous soil level. So try to plant it to approximately the same depth again.

For planting the plugs and other bare root plants, we have a video. Sorry it is not as crystal clear as we would like it to be. It became unclear in the upload to YouTube.

For Screening or a Fence: Willow Fedge vs Coppiced Willows

2011-03-28T14:20:00.000-07:00

That Jim (6'2"), the owner of Bluestem Nursery, standing amongst

Salix viminalis Superba. That is just one year's growth!

(on the willows, not Jim!)

Willows are great for screening. They put on a lot of growth in a single year, especially when coppiced (cut to ground level) in late winter/early spring.

There are two ways to grow them: upright, which involves putting cuttings in the ground, and building a fedge, which involves putting 6'+ rods into the ground on an angle. Let's consider the pros and cons of a building a fedge vs a simply planting a stand of willows:

Fedge (more info on our website)

Pros:

sturdy
permanent (meaning year round)
unique
will keep out deer and other larger animals
can be kept narrow
gives you screening the first year

Cons:

will require pruning at least twice a year
if not pruned the branches will flop and look messy
requires some effort to build
because of the pruning required, it may not be very tall

A stand of coppiced willow plants

Pros:

inexpensive
easy
requires pruning only in late winter
many ways to approach it (see Willows for Screening) on our website
will probably keep out deer, once it grows taller
shelters wildlife

Cons:

needs to be cut down at some point (however, see the link above)
will not give much screening the first year
will be quite wide, though stray branches can simply be pruned, at anytime of the year

Root Systems of Prairie Plants

2011-02-22T12:30:00.000-08:00

A customer pointed out this interesting information, from the Illinois Native Plant Guide, on the root systems of native plants. Since we occasionally get asked about the root depth of our grasses, and because we sell 8 of those shown in the diagram, I thought it may be of interest. Click here to view.

It is a bit difficult to read the names of the plants, so here are those that we carry:

Sorghastrum nutans (Indian grass) - 4th from the left
Andropogon gerardii (Big bluestem) - 9th
Sporobolus heterolepis (Prairie dropseed) - 11th
Bouteloua curtipendula (Sideoats grama) - 12th
Panicum virgatum (Switchgrass) - 14th
Schizachyrium scoparium (Little bluestem) - 16th
Koeleria cristata (pyramidata) (Junegrass) - 19th
Buchloe dactyloides (Buffalo grass) - 21st

Note that the first one is so small that you may miss it when counting from the left (its Kentucky bluegrass)

Click on the coloured text to go directly to our website to view more info aabout each grass.

Nova Scotia Community College - Living Wall

2011-02-16T08:54:00.000-08:00

I received a link to this video of a living wall under construction at the Waterfront Campus of NSCC in eastern Canada.

Congratulations to all involved. It looks beautiful!!

If You Have Streambank Erosion Issues

2011-02-15T10:10:00.000-08:00

From a newsletter we receive:

Streambank Soil Bioengineering: How to Build & Install Vegetative Structures for Reducing Streambank Erosion

Same Agenda, Two Locations:

February 23-24, 2011 Portland, OR
or
March 9-10, 2011 Spokane, WA

"Join us for a very practical, in-depth and applied workshop on building and installing vegetative structures for reducing stream bank erosion. Our two very experienced instructors will cover all aspects from understanding stream functions, and riparian sites to the building, applied uses and life expectancy of stream bank erosion control techniques. A wide variety of designs and applications will be covered with an on-the-ground assessment of what works and what doesn't. The same workshop will be offered in both Portland, OR and Spokane, WA to make your travel plans easier."

For more information and to register, click here.....

Living Walls or Vertical Gardens

2011-01-11T13:41:00.000-08:00

A vertical wall of greenery is not only aesthically pleasing in concrete jungles, but it also significantly cools the wall.

The vertical garden is not just ivy growing up a wall, rather the plants are rooted in the wall. It is closely related to a green roof.... simply a green roof suspended vertically.

Previous to the Olympics in Vancouver, I had been seen pictures of living walls(aka vertical gardens, green walls, plants walls, biowalls), but I hadn't been able to get up close to one until I saw this one on display during the Olympics. The picture below looks a bit like it could be a bunch of plants at a nursery, waiting to be purchased, doesn't it? However this small panel is hanging vertically and while he plants have not filled out yet, you can see the various colours and textures have created something visually appealing:

To explain the concept, from Wikipedia:

"In vertical gardens, plants are rooted in fibrous material anchored to a wall. Water trickles down between the sheets and feeds moss, vines and other plants. Bacteria on the roots of the plants metabolize air impurities such as volatile organic compounds."

To further develop the idea of using various leaf colours and textures Patrick Blanc has designed many incredible vertical gardens around the world. This one is on the Marché des Halles in Avignon, France:

The overpass below is Pont Max Juvénal, in Aix-en-Provence, France:

A living wall on the CaixaForum, a new museum in Madrid, Spain:

Made by Scotscape Living Walls, in Scotland:

The walls can also be indoors, such as in offices, hotel atriums, etc, to improve the air quality, but I will save that for a future post.

Some further info and pictures can be seen at these websites:

Sod Furniture, Grass Furniture or Organic Furniture

2010-12-31T18:38:00.000-08:00

I see that it was way back in 2006 that I discovered some pictures of sod furniture and put them on my own blog. I am guessing that some of you might like to see what wonderful things some creative people are doing with a mound of dirt and some rolls of turf.

I believe that credit can be given to Greg Tate for coming up with the idea. He is responsible for these beauties:

Cornell University has done quite a bit of work in this area, including a video series. This is the first, which is a time-lapse video:

This page has many more videos in the series: Cornell University Living Sculpture, and these pages have more info and links.

For those of you considering making a piece of sod sculpture, I suggest that you visit Cornell's blog, as they have also followed it up with an article title Sod Furniture Revisited: Some Lessons Learned

Instructions for a sod chair can also be found at the bottom of this page at Rumble Pie.

What fun!!!

Willow Elephants in England

2010-05-20T16:30:00.000-07:00

The Brits are miles ahead of us in North America, when it comes to the use of willows for sculpture (though Patrick Doherty and Alastair Heseltine are two notable exceptions).

Here is my latest discovery, from a post that is no long available on The Guardian's website:

"A herd of life-size wicker elephants arrives in Hyde Park today for a two-week stay. The 13 elephants are specially commissioned by charity elephant family, which is working with the Royal Parks Foundation and The World Land Trust to raise awareness about habitat protection projects in the UK and India. Here we chart the elephants' journey from the workshop to the banks of the Serpentine."

There are 9 more photos on The Guardian's website, including some of how the elephants were constructed. There are a few more interesting details on the BBC website.

On our website, I have more links to artists who are creating willow scuptures.

How to Build a Living Willow Dome

2010-05-06T20:31:00.000-07:00

When Harriet sent pictures of her living willow structure, I was so impressed that I asked if I could put them on our blog. She not only agreed but sent along a wonderful set of instructions! Thanks Harriet!

Building a Willow House

"Coming from England, I have seen and admired Willow structures for a number of years thinking one day I would build one myself. Having our children rekindled the idea and I searched for a place to find the Willow rods. I finally found Bluestem and ordered my rods for delivery in Spring this year! I ordered 50 rods in total. This is what we did...

What you need:

Willow rods
Garden twine
Weed membrane
12" Planting Dibber or stick to make holes in the ground
Compost
Bag of Flour!

Step 1
Pick a spot about 40' away from your house or any other structure/building and lay down a membrane to make the floor of the house. Our floor was 8ft square and the rods I think were 8'-9' long.
Note: due to US Post Office shipping restrictions, we ship rods 84" long; in Canada 200cm.

Step 1

Step 2
Find the center of the floor and use a piece of twine and the dibber as a guide while you make a circle using the bag of flour :-)

Step 2

Step 3
Decide where the door will be and choose some sturdy rods to make a doorway (wider than your shoulders so big people can get in too!). Make two holes in the ground through your flour circle with the dibber (about 10"-12" deep) and place your rods in for the doorway. Bend the rods into a cross and twist/weave together.

Step 3

Step 4
Select 6 more strong rods and place them in the ground at equal distances around the circle pointing straight up.

Steps 4 and 5

Step 5
In between each upright rod two more rods need to be placed in the ground; one on a diagonal to the left and one on a diagonal to the right. So when you are done you should have an upright rod, a right and a left rod repeating all the way round.

Step 6
This is where you need 6 pairs of hands, the more people you have to help the better! (we did it with two adults, a three year old and a 7 month old, it was rather amusing, more adults and less kids would have been better) You need to gently bend in your rods so that they have a window about 2' round left open at the top for growth and weaving when the structure grows. While a few hands bend in the rods, another set of hands has to secure the rods in this position with twine whilst weaving the rods in between each other in a very loose basket weave type effort!!

Steps 6, 7 and 8

Step 7
Fill in any gaps you can see with left over rods. Apparently it is best to plant them on the diagonal for maximum coverage when they grow, rather than straight up.

Step 8
Once it was complete, I trimmed the flooring into a circle.

As it grows, I plan to weave in the growth at the top and eventually release the twine holding it together at the moment."

Growth during the first season, along with some happy little girls

Visit the Living Willow Structures page at Bluestem Nursery to purchase rods and for more info regarding all the neat things that you can do with willow rods.

Living Roof Bench in Alberta, Canada

2010-04-29T16:02:00.000-07:00

Carolyn Rallison (who also makes willow baskets, which are shown on our website) sent us this picture of her latest creation - a bench with a living roof. What a talented lady she is!!

I asked Carolyn if she had anything she would like to add:

"I built the bench of spruce limbs and poplar boards. The planting box is lined with pond liner, then a layer of coco mat for drainage. The soil is lean and sandy, as soil that is too rich makes lush and lanky growth. The whole structure is 7 feet tall, 6 feet wide, and 2 feet deep. Last summer was quite dry, so I had to keep it watered; but my intention is to have it "self-sufficient"."

"I first saw and read about green roofs on the internet, then bought a book to read about the subject. I know that there are sod roofs here in Alberta, but have never heard of one with perennials. So I really wanted to give one a try. I planted with assorted perennials and a few annuals for colour: Bearberry, blue flax, alpine poppies, Alpicola primulas, hens & chicks, alpine columbine, species tulips, squill, nemesia & dwarf phlox (annuals). "

"It is just coming through its first winter, so will soon see what has survived! If nothing else, I will just plant it to drought-tolerant annuals every year. I will report on survival rates of the different plants as soon as I know."

Carolyn Rallison
Last West Gardens
Bluffton, Alberta
Zone 3

Growing Grasses in Cold Climates

2010-04-08T17:27:00.000-07:00

If you live in Zone 4 or colder, you would be wise to consider not just the hardiness of the grass, but also whether it can be expected to bloom in your short growing season.

Warm Season Grasses

Warm season grasses tend to have more spectacular blooms, but they also bloom late in the season. If you have a short growing season they may only be just starting to bloom when a hard frost hits. Miscanthus is finished once that happens. The blooms that have opened will remain, but the leaves turn beige and no more blooms are produced.

Here is a list of warm season grasses:

Andropogon - Big bluestem
Bouteloua - Blue gama
Imperata - Japanese blood grass
Miscanthus - Maiden grass
Panicum - Switch grass
Pennisetum - Fountain grass
Saccharum - Hardy pampas grass
Schizachyrium - Little bluestem
Sorghastrum - Indian grass
Sporobolus - Prairie dropseed and Alkali sacaton

In a climate where the soil does not warm up until mid May or later, there will not be any signs of life from warm season grasses before then. You will be emailing us and telling us your plant(s) have not survived the winter! But they are just waiting for the soil to warm up before they send any leaves up. They thrive in hot weather.

So the use of warm season grasses means that part of your garden will look very bare well into the spring. If you have a lot of garden space planted in warm season grasses, your garden will not show any greenery before late May or maybe even well into June. In a climate with a short growing season you may feel a little cheated. Pennisetum is especially suspenseful because it is the very last to grow, waiting until well into May or even June in a Zones 4 or 5.

Cool Season Grasses

The cool season grasses are much better suited to cold climate gardens. They are in a hurry to produce offspring, so they are up and growing and blooming as quickly as they can. They like the cool weather. So they bloom early, meaning that frost won't ruin the blossoms. Many have blossoms that hang around until winter.

Here is a list of cool season grasses:

Achnatherum - Spear grass
Alopecurus - Golden foxtail grass
Arrhenatherum - Bulbous oat grass
Calamagrostis - Feather reed grass
Carex - technically not a grass, and many are evergreen
Chasmanthium - Northern sea oats
Deschampsia - Tufted hair grass
Elymus - Wheat grass or Wild rye
Festuca - Fescue
Helictotrichon - Blue oat grass
Juncus - technically not a grass, and may be evergreen
Koeleria - Hair grass
Luzula - technically not a grass, and will probably be evergreen
Molinia - Moor grass
Phalaris - Ribbon grass
Poa - Blue meadow grass
Sesleria - Moor grass
Stipa - Feather grass (S. brachytricha, an exception, blooms in lt Aug or Sept)

Cool season grasses, for the most part, bloom in cool weather and shut down in the heat of summer. If they are not allowed to dry out too much they continue to look good, but they are usually done blooming. Seslerias heufleriana and caerulea bloom with the daffodils!

The four champion/pretty-well-fool-proof grasses in the cool season category are:

Calamagrostis, particularly Karl Foerster, our top-selling grass
Deschampsia - very hardy and Goldtau is absolutely lovely
Festuca - many to choose from
Helictotrichon - its evergreen in most climates, so that's a real bonus!

So in climates colder than Zone 3, we recommend only cool season grasses. In Zone 3 we suggest about 80% cool season and in Zone 4 about 60% cool season grasses.

On our website we state the blooming time for a grass. The earlier blooming warm season grasses are the ones to choose in a cool climate. For instance Panicum blooms early and is hardy, so it is a good choice.

Of course we understand a gardener's love of pushing the boundaries, so these are only suggestions. Even I do it. In my Zone 5 garden with early sunset of 5pm, I have a Pampas grass that I have nursed back from near death (because I transplanted it at the wrong time!). Last year it started to look happy, but didn't bloom. Maybe, just maybe it will this year....?

Definitions Regarding Exposure

2010-03-23T14:44:00.000-07:00

A visitor to our website asked to have clarification of our terms regarding light shade, part shade and part sun. I can see how a person could be confused. So I thought I would put the info here. It is a complex subject, but I will give it a try.

Light shade: dappled light, such as comes through tree leaves

Part shade: shade for a good part of the day, but not all day

Part sun: receives direct sun, about 4-6 hr a day

Full sun: 6 hr of sun a day

But there is one more important factor and that is WHEN the sun is shining. If a plant receives 6 hrs of sun from 3pm until 9pm, that does not count for much, as the sun at that time is considered to not be as strong as it is at midday, from 9am to 3pm or 10am to 4pm.

Also, sun from 6am to noon is kinder than sun from 3 to 9pm because the air is cooler. So some shade plants can often take full sun (6 hr) if it is in the very early morning (east side of the house) but not during mid day, or late afternoon.

Water also plays a role. There are lots of shade plants that can take more sun, as long as they get lots of water.

After I sent this to Neils he replied "It reminds me of the understanding the all the terms the arctic aboriginals have about snow." That sums it up rather well. They instictively understand snow, and an experienced gardener understands shade. But both are confusing to the beginner.

Starting Willow Cuttings in Paper Pots

2010-03-20T13:55:00.000-07:00

Recently we received this wonderful information and photo from one of our customers. I asked her if I could share it on this blog.

"Last year I received willow starts from you on 4/5, kept them in the refrigerator until 4/16 when I set them up to root in vermiculite. "

"I made paper tubes of newspaper, filled with plain vermiculite, one willow stick in each tube, grouped the tubes into large plastic pots to hold them upright and keep them wet."

"It was June 7 when I was ready to plant the willows. So 7 weeks rooting in vermiculite, about 4 weeks in the house and 3 weeks outdoors in shade. This method is a good way to insure strong root development, especially if you expect a delay in planting and might miss the moist soil of early Spring."

"I usually leave the newspaper tube on when putting the plant into the soil. They're just a couple layers of paper and ready to decompose, falling apart by 7 weeks old as these plants were held a bit long."

This is a picture of a poplar, but the willow cuttings did just as well

"Look at the beautiful plant! Admittedly this was one of the fullest. They are planted to make a coppice for crafting materials. Planted in a spot selected for it's location rather than it's soil quality, we did amend the soil with mushroom compost - I am a mushroom farmer- and applied several inches of mulch in the Fall. All but one plant grew."

"I have planted hundreds of trees and it is my greatest pleasure to see the trees growing and the small creatures that make use of them."

Rebecca Miller

Thanks Rebecca!

Note: We definitely recommend keeping the newspaper on when planting, as the roots are brittle and could easily be broken off when inserting a bare root willow into the planting hole.

More Gorgeous Willow Stems

2010-03-14T22:08:00.000-07:00

The temperature or climate or ? was particularly suited to producing good colour in the willow stems last summer and fall. I have not previously taken much note of the stems of S. fragilis Belgium Red (Crack willow), but their shiny red branches stood out in the block:

If S. fragilis Belgium Red is allowed to grow to full height, it will become a huge tree, with invasive roots. However if coppiced every year, or every other year, it will simply be a shrub, like any other shrub.

The beautiful leaves of S. pentandra (common name - Bay willow) are a standout, but I had not noticed the stems. Their bright rich olive green colour was unique in the willow block:

Compared with the straight up and down rods of most of the other willows S. sepulcralis 'Erythroflexuosa' (whew, what a mouthful!) looks like it must be from a different genus. This willow is great for screens or hedges (eg. keeping the deer out), giving a dense coverage with interesting branches all year round:

We have another curly willow, but it is much more erect as a coppiced plant. It too is a mouthful: S. babylonica var. pekinensis. It is related to the giant weeping willow, which is called S. babylonica. S. babylonica var. pekinensis (also known as Curly or Corkscrew willow) is much shorter and therefore has much less invasive roots:

The big surprise for me was to find that S. alba Chermesina (Redstem willow) was looking as colourful as S. alba Britzensis. Jim told me they were virtually identical, but I had not seen proof. However now I am a believer! The plant in the picture below is a very small one, at the edge, where they weren't getting enough water:

I am going to have to get out into the field every year to see what other willows will surprise me.

A Visit to the Willow Block

2010-03-13T22:19:00.000-08:00

I managed to get out to the willow block before they were all cut down. Its such a place of beauty when there is no colour elsewhere in the landscape. The favourite willow for winter colour is usually S. Hutchinsons Yellow, but this year S. Flame - yellow and S. Vitellina were all gorgeous. As I looked at each one I thought it must be the best, but once I stood back they all looked equally sensational.

I thought you might be interested in a comparison of the three yellow stemmed willows:

S. Flame - yellow has many small branches, hence it will provide a denser screen, but the small branches make it not suitable for basketry. Golden-yellow base, changing to red at the tips.

S. rubens Hutchinsons Yellow is very reliable for sensational winter colour but usually has some branching, making it not as suitable for basketry. However this block had beautiful straight branchless rods. Most of the rod is a rich egg-yolk colour, but changes to reddish near the tips

S. alba Vitellina is also very reliable for winter colour, is quite tall, and has somewhat heavy rods for basketry. It also likes a lot of water, particularly if it is allowed to grow. If coppiced annually, its water demands are much less. The sun came out for a moment, so this photo really looks golden!

If S. alba Vitellina is allowed to grow to full height, it will become a huge tree, with invasive roots. However if coppiced every year, or every other year, it will simply be a shrub, like other shrub.

Cutting Back Grasses - Part 5

2010-03-12T15:46:00.000-08:00

A list of the cool season grasses, the ones to cut back first:

Achnatherum - Spear grass
Arrhenatherum - Bulbous oat grass
Calamagrostis - Reed grass
Chasmanthium - Northern sea oats
Deschampsia - Tufted hair grass
Elymus
Festuca - Fescue
Koeleria
Molinia - Moor grass
Phalaris - Ribbon grass
Poa - Meadow grass
Scirpus - Bulrush
Sesleria - Moor grass
Stipa - Feather (reed) grass

See Cutting Back Grasses - Part One for more info.

Cutting Back Ornamental Grasses - Part 4

2010-03-12T15:31:00.000-08:00

Warm season grasses will not be growing for awhile yet, at least not in most of North America. They require warm soil before they will show signs of life. More on this subject later.

So there isn't the same rush to get the tops trimmed off of these warm season grasses:

Andropogon - Big bluestem
Bouteloua - Blue grama
Imperata - Japanese blood grass
Miscanthus - Maiden grass
Panicum - Switch grass
Pennisetum - Fountain grass
Saccharum - Hardy pampas grass
Schizachyrium - Little bluestem
Sorghastrum - Indian grass
Sporobolus

All those listed above, except for Miscanthus and Saccharum, are probably easiest dealt with by using a bread knife, as mentioned in Cutting Back Grasses - Part 1. Cut them down to 3-4" above the crown.

I suggest that if the stems of Miscanthus and Saccharum are dry, that it can be quite easy to break them off. One spring when my back was sore, I pushed over a couple of stalks at a time with my foot, planted my left foot on the stalk to hold it down, about a foot from the plant's crown. With my right foot (and a fairly hard-toed shoe or boot) I kicked at the base of the stalk until it separated. This was surprisingly easy to do.

As mentioned on our website, the heavier grasses can be cut back with a hedge trimmer or a weed eater-type machine, using a blade rather than the nylon line.

Cutting Back Grasses - Part 3

2010-03-10T20:30:00.000-08:00

There are a few cool season grasses that are evergreen:

Helictotrichon - Blue oat grass - just comb through with your fingers to remove the dead leaves
Luzula - evergreen here, but if the tips look bad you can hold them straight up and give them a hair cut
Sesleria - evergreen for me, but does have some dead leaves in it, so I gave mine a haircut this year
Carex* - technically not a grass, but looks like one.

C. muskingumensis - don't be tempted to leave any green that might be showing. Cut down right back so that you have a sturdy plant when it starts to grow
C. flagellifera - I know it looks dead, but if the leaves don't pull out easily, just leave them be, because they are alive
C. caryophyllea - evergreen for me, or nearly so. I trim only if it looks bad.

Juncus - evergreen for me, but depending on whether or not it looks ratty, I do or do not cut it back.

*Carex is a sedge. Jim wants everyone to know that he nearly killed some years ago, by cutting back too close to the crown. (Actually, its me who wants everyone to know that Jim is just as capable of killing plants as we are!). He did the same with Deschampsia.

So a crewcut is not necessary. Just give them a trim, as the new growth will soon hide any of the leftover dead foliage.

Cutting Back Grasses - Part 2

2010-03-06T15:25:00.000-08:00

I just got my first grass cut of the season. I should know better. After using bare hands to comb through the Helictotrichon (Blue oat grass) with no problem, I was cutting down a Miscanthus and must have been over-confident. I had a sturdy glove in my left hand, and the pruner in my glove-less right. That was where I made my mistake. Sure enough, one dried blade jumped out and got me.

So please learn from my mistake(s). Wear long sleeves and gloves when working around Miscanthus.

A tip regarding cutting back Miscanthus is to tie a couple of bungee cords around it before you start to cut. You want to keep all the stalks and leaves in a tight bundle. This makes it much easier to get rid of the mess later.....and a mess there will certainly be if you don't!

We Have Started Shipping Already

2010-03-04T15:37:00.000-08:00

Any of you who followed the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, BC, no doubt were aware of the extremely mild temperatures the area has experienced for the past few months. While we are over 500km east of Vancouver (300+ miles) we too have been very mild. Not much snow either.

However I do think it is more than fair, as winter started with a bang in October, with temps of -12C (10F) before the middle of the month!! That was about a week after it was +30C (86F)!!

With little snow cover and very cold temps in early December, we are hoping the plants are okay in the field.

The willows are being cut as I write this. Many rods and cuttings have already been shipped to those who are in milder climates (Zone 7 and warmer). Also plugs of grasses and some field divisions of cool season grasses.

If you are in Zone 5 or colder we will not ship to you before the end of this month.

Cutting Back Ornamental Grasses - Part 1

2010-03-02T21:08:00.000-08:00

We are about a month ahead this year. The cool season grasses are already growing. So that meant that as soon as the Olympics were over I had to get outside and start cutting off the dead grass before I would be cutting off the tips of new growth.

The hand pruners were closest so I grabbed them. As I was working away I kept asking myself "Last year, didn't I discover something that was better than these things?" Once I developed a blister I knew I had to change tools.

So I grabbed a sickle. It was better, but I am quite sure it wasn't my "discovery" from last year. Then the light bulb went on. I am quite sure I used a saw! A pruning saw (has a curved blade). It was still too rough so it occurred to me that a knife with a finer serration would work even better.

So I grabbed our lowest-quality bread knife, and it was GREAT. It had a coarse serration. It helps if the weather is warm enough to work with bare hands, as its really hard to hold a bread knife handle if wearing large gloves!

My lengthy hedges of C. Karl Foerster and Overdam were done in no time! It also works very well for Deschampsia, Pennisetum, and all grasses with soft leaves. It does not work well for the heavy stalks of Miscanthus or Saccharum.

Check thrift stores for old bread knives. By the way, it also works particularly well for cutting off the soft wet leaves of Siberian iris, which doesn't respond well to any other method of removal that I have discovered.

Inula racemosa 'Sonnenspeer'

2010-02-13T22:06:00.000-08:00

I perennial that is surprisingly underused (in my opinion) is Inula racemosa 'Sonnenspeer. It looks spectacular as it starts to grow in the spring. When I took this picture I didn't think to put anything alongside it for scale. Those leaves are huge and will reach up to a meter (3') in length and 8-10" wide!!

Then the 2" wide flowers are loaded on a sturdy stem, reaching up to 2 meters (6.5') in height:

At the end of the growing season it becomes a great dried flower. It will last for years if you want. I see that the picture below only shows the dried leaves. I will have to look around for a dried stem to photograph, as there are no dried flowers showing on the stems below.

Pushing the Boundaries With Willow Weaving

2010-02-11T22:15:00.000-08:00

I don't know if my enthusiasm for willow sculpture comes through in our webpage by the same name, but I have a feeling it does. So I was thrilled to find this video showing work by Lise Bech in Scotland. I particularly like the screen!

Read more about Lisa Bech on her website.

Dare I Say It?

2010-02-05T23:05:00.000-08:00

The month of January has been abnormally mild for us. Some of you may have heard about the lack of snow for one of the winter Olympic venues in Vancouver. The same mild weather (though somewhat cooler) has been melting the snow here, 500 km (300 miles) to the east. This detail may be of interest to those of you in warmer climes who order willow cuttings and hope receive them before the weather gets too warm in your area. If I don't jinx things by making this statement, we expect to be able to start taking cuttings in a couple of weeks.

For those of you who don't know what I mean by willow cuttings, they are 11" sticks from our collection of over 50 varieties of willows. We bundle them up into groups of 10 cuttings and sell them that way. You can simply stick a cutting into the soil and they will sprout roots and grow an incredible amount the first year, as long as the soil is kept moist until they become established. Here is a picture of that amazing growth in one year, from just a stick:

These are growing in Jim's brother's yard in Ohio. Frank has contributed a number of pictures to our Grass Scapes Gallery and is also selling pictures of grasses on the BluestemArt website.

Willow Basketry - Joe Hogan, Ireland

2010-01-30T15:47:00.000-08:00

I have always loved to do research for our willow pages. I usually either discover some new use(s) for willows or a new website showing baskets or sculpture. Most of the time the websites are in the UK or Ireland and Joe Hogan's is no exception. He makes willow baskets, using the natural colours of willow stems to add wonderful interest to a tradional basket:

He also gets real creative with his contemporary baskets, even using the catkins. I can only guess that he wove the basket just before the catkins came out. One thing people may not realize is that the catkins, if not rubbed off, should remain on the branches for years.

Visit his website to see many more examples of his beautiful work: www.joehoganbaskets.com/

Alopecurus pratensis 'Aureovariegatus' - Golden Foxtail Grass

2010-01-28T12:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was scouring my discs and hard-drive for pics that Marjorie Harris wants to accompany an article for the May issue of Chatelaine Magazine. I used to have them, but not anymore. At least something good resulted in that I found many pictures that I think people would like to see. But the website is sort of out of room or some pics need explanation, so this is where a blog works better than a website.

This is a picture I found. These gorgeous Alopecurus pratensis 'Aureovariegatus' are in a bed next to the City Hall in Grand Forks, BC. They are in full sun so they are a bright gold. If they were in partial shade they would be more lime-green in colour.

Welcome!

2010-01-27T19:53:00.000-08:00

It occurred to me today that a blog would be a good way to post some more pictures. The website gets so much traffic that we are often over our bandwidth and some pictures are pretty good, but not quite good enough to use on the website so I figured I could post them here. This also allows for a bit of commentary in regards to a picture, which is not as well-suited to a website.

If you are thinking that the picture in the header is of Calamagrostis Karl Foerster, I am afraid that you guessed wrong. It is a Deschampsia. I am not sure which one, but they are all pretty similar except for D. Bronzeschleier, which is not as bright.