Hi! I'd like to try and overwinter a couple of ponytail grass plants that I've had in containers all summer. I'm in zone 5b on the north shore of Lake Erie.
I'd also like to try and overwinter a bloodgrass I've bought.
Last year I tried cutting the ponytail grass back and storing it in the basement.
I brought it outside in the spring and watered it but it didn't come back.
I wonder if I should try growing it on inside as a houseplant during the winter.
Has anyone been successful at overwintering these grasses?
Overwintering tender oranmental grasses.
Hi Shirleyellenp. I'll certainly be interested in any responses to this as well. I have some pink pampass grass that I want to try to keep.
I grew it from seed last year, but it didn't have time to flower. Tried starting it even earlier this year, but the night temps in spring didn't cooperate and it hasn't flowered again - it's close though.
I want to try bringing it into our unheated garage - it's well insulated so nothing ever actually freezes out there. I'd give it very sparing amounts of water occasionally to keep it from drying out completely.
--Ginny
I tried to overwinter some Zebra Grass and Purple Fountain grass last year - dug them up and repotted and had them in my largely unheated back porch.
They did not survive.
Leaving the grass in place, in the ground, I would try mounding peatmoss at the base, as high as you can go - like you would for a tender tea rose. You could plant the entire group of plants from the container with the ponytail grass, not disturbing the roots too much. I have done that with herbs/tea rose & had mose the herbs come back including rosemary. The mound of peat was about a foot. Trim off the tall grass in the spring if you want to keep the winter interest.
One thing to check is if the grass is truely a perennial. Most are, but you never know.
This message was edited Sep 24, 2007 7:58 AM
Thanks for the reply, Joanne! That's a good idea about the peat moss and I think I'll give it a try. It was also a good suggestion to check and see if they are indeed perennials...it's the little things. lol
Googled and found that Ponytail grass is indeed a perennial and frost hardy so with the added protection I might stand a chance in overwintering it. I notice that it has self seeded under and around the pot so I'll try adding protection to these as well. If you've been successful in Alberta I should be able to manage it in Southern Ontario...zone 5b.
Good luck with yours Ginny!
Forgot to add. For the last couple of years, I had planted Black Mondo Grass - Ophiopogon Arabiscus in my flowerbeds. One had survied 2 Calgary winters, the other went thru 1 winter. I was going to yank them out this spring, but they were green at the base, so I left them. They were not cut off at all and the falls leaves gave them enough protection I guess. They did get a little wider, but stayed about the same height (about 6")
This message was edited Sep 24, 2007 12:38 PM
Thanks for the good wishes :-)
I tried overwintering Stipa tenuissima Ponytails Grass in pots in a coldroom with no luck. Besides they are very easy to start from seed each year.
Sharon
The other thing to keep in mind that when grass is dormant, it looks dead. So don't be too hastey to throw out one that you have over wintered. It may take a month or so before it gets going again. The nightime temps will need to be consistantly warm to get some noticable new growth.
Good point, Joanne. Even knowing better I made that mistake with my Rose of Sharon this year.
I'll have to try growing some of these grasses from seed as you suggested, crazy_gardener. Do you have a good resource for seeds of these grasses?
William Dam Seeds have Ponytail Grass and other Ornamental grass seeds at their website.
http://www.damseeds.com/
Sharon
Check www.bluestem.ca
Bluestem Nursery (Cold Climate Field Grown Plants)
They have an excellent grass comparison chart you may want to print - 6 pages
This chart is a gold mine. I have been looking for something like this for a long time.
Theresa
Wow, thanks for those great links, Joanne and Sharon.
That second link is a fantastic resource and both links have been saved to my favourites.
I can see an big inclusion of grasses into my garden with great information like this.