Nothing says, “I’m a serious gardener,” like the plant that nobody else has. That’s how imported ornamentals became so popular in the first place. Landowners displayed their wealth and status in their collections of rare plants from far-away places. Now, over half the plants listed in wholesale catalogs may be from outside North America.The thirst for a coveted luxury item and status symbol fueled the tulip craze in Holland centuries ago. It now motivates people to order the latest hosta, daylily, coneflower, or peony from the expensive mail-order nursery of their choice, paying $30 to $50, and sometimes more, for a single plant. I’ve given in to the temptation. I have at least half a dozen different types of the now-trendy Echinacea genus on my lot.
I also have the only bottlebrush grass (Elymus hystrix, formerly Hystrix patula) on the block. Its unusual flower heads and large size (up to 5 feet tall) make it quite the eye-catching plant. Thriving in the shady spots in my yard its second year, it looks as good as promised by the catalog photos.
Acquiring the bottlebrush grass plants required considerable effort, though I didn’t have to bring it back from my trip to Asia. Not finding bare-root or potted plants, I ordered seeds from Prairie Moon Nursery, which specializes in native plants. I pretreated the seeds by chilling them in the refrigerator for 2 months. They then went into peat pellets for starting indoors, followed by time in a sunny window. Finally, the seedlings went outside a few hours each day for “hardening off” and then into the ground.
Compared to the norm of hostas (from Asia) and Kentucky bluegrass (from Europe), bottlebrush grass is “exotic.” But it’s from right here in North America, growing wild in some of Chicago’s forest preserves. The Chicago Park District included the plant in its restoration of the Hurley Park Savannah.
Here’s hoping someone makes it available to the masses. It’s a great shade grass, providing lots of drama and requiring little care.
No comments:
Post a Comment