General Discussion & Chat: Perennials: Favorite fall bloomers, 1 by DonnaMack

DonnaMack wrote:
You really have not missed the boat. I just soaked my ricinus last week. I pulled out my copy of Michael Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs and he loves ilex grabra, referring to it as "one of the great plants for massing - trouble free and beautiful." He says that it can grow in wet or dry soils, under high or low ph conditions, and wow its pretty! Looks a lot like bayberry. He says it grows 6 to 8 feet high, 8 to 10 feet wide, but I'm betting it can be pruned to size. And there are smaller cultivars, some as short as 2 1/2 feet tall and 3 feet wide. He says it should be used more. Looks like a winner.

And speaking of feather reed grass, please see the image. Accompanying it are chasmanthium latifolium and some miscanthus (silberfeder) in the background.