sorry, for some reason the above link doesn't work.
this one should ...

Here is a link that might be useful: container grasses

Great pics! I love the Blue Dune Grass.

A, Great photos. Thanks for posting them. In the photo above, is that a type of miscanthus with another grass behind? This must be what you called a 3/4 barrel. Mine are 1/2s, I guess. I also like the Calamagrostis brachitricha.

Does the bamboo stay outdoors all winter? It looks great in a pot.

cb,
The grass in the 3/4 barrel is a Miscanthus purpurescens and is in dire need of division - next year!
Mostly what you see in the picture is all that grass. Directly behind and to the left is a Cornus kousa and off to the right (in the distance is a whole hill planted in Miscanthus cultivars.
As for the bamboo - they are planted in large plastic tree-sized black pots which are sitting in the decorative ceramic pots. They can be either overwintered in the garage which keeps the foliage nice or I heel them into my husband's veggie garden.
Oh yeah, The C. brachytricha 'was' a barrel full of Pennisetum oriental for several years. The C. brachytricha seeded itself into the barrel where they co-existed for a couple of years and then the C. brachytricha took over after a particularly hard winter.

A.

A Miscanthus hill is a very cool idea. Alas, I'm trying to eke out places for grasses--we have a small lot and much of it is shady.

Do they need to be established in their pots before being left outside for the winter? In other words, can I plant in fall?

Does your Miscanthus purpurescens turn bright red in fall? (You're a comparable zone to me, so maybe it would behave similarly here.)

Knowing nothing about bamboo. . . what kind is that growing in the beige pot by the door? I also really like the yellow-leafed one in the group of three. Do you know of a good bamboo Internet source?

We are going to have that thermostat changed before fall, that way I can put grasses/bamboo inside before freezing, if I've bought and potted them by then.

Sorry for all the questions. . . again. Hope you don't mind.

wow! lots of questions :o)
Shady sites: there are lots of great carex species & cultivars, hakonechloa macra & cultivars, chasmanthium latifolium, and I am growing Miscanthus s. 'Morning Light' & 'Variegatus' in about 3 hours of sunlight.

I would definitely get them established in their pots before leaving out for the winter.

My Miscanthus purpurescens turns a reddish-orange almost every fall. Less sunny spots less colour.

Bamboo in the beige pot is Phyllostachys aurea - i think? The variegated one is Pleoblastus viridistriatus (auricoma) - at least that's what the label says. I know almost nothing about bamboo. I have four different ones, all in pots and am shopping for another two this year. I have been given all of mine so ... can't advise on where to buy. Try out the bamboo forum, there seems to be a lot of good advice there.

Sounds like you are really getting excited about grasses. Keep asking questions & enjoy!
a.

What a beautiful plant hakonechloa macra is (I found photos of 'All Gold' and 'Aureola').

Thanks for the tip on the bamboo forum. I didn't realize there was one (should've looked).

I AM getting excited about ornamental grasses. I will have to annex the neighbors yard, however (I hope they'll like all the grasses I'm going to put over there).

Where will it all end. . . ?

Thank you again for your help.

A--one more quesiton (!). Do you grow any Hakonechloa macra in the ground? I saw a couple in your container photos; I am thinking of putting some in a shady bed, but the zone info I've found is all over the place.

Okay, enough for now.

CB

CB,
I sure can grow it in the ground ~ absolutely no problem here ~ I wouldn't even say that it was marginal in my zone.
BUT ... a picture is worth a thousand words :o)
a.

Next spring, lets see about putting together a grass plug coop. That's the best way to get a bunch of these exotics, like Hakone and such.

If we organize it over the winter, and have it nailed down tight, I'll do the work. We'll pick a vendor, collect everyone's orders and money, and place an order. I'll take them in, and ship them out. Or one of you can do the work, if you prefer.

Who's interested?

Donn,
Not a bad idea but, not one that 'I' can take advantage of. That pesky old border does get in the way.

Actually, I have only grown from plugs once. These days I look for a good end of the season sale. Sometimes driving a distance to get what I want. For instance one wholesaler a 2 1/2 hour drive away has an amazing once per year sale in the fall. I buy several pots and get them as full as I can. Baby them over the fall and winter and then come spring make as many divisions as possible. Set them out in good growing conditions and voila!
I ALWAYS keep enough stock of the varieties I am already growing so that I can make my own divisions. No matter which way you go you can't get any cheaper than your own!

If we marked your package "Books" would the border bother them? ;>)

A, What a beautiful plant! Wow. I would really like a couple of these. So glad to hear they're hardy for you. Thanks for posting the photo.

Donn, I would be interested in going in with you, but the number of plants I could take would be quite limited (definitely fewer than 10). You'll need bigger buyers than me! Maybe you should post a new topic on this idea?

bird...when the time comes, I'll start a new thread. It's just in the thought stages now. I'll have to research all the vendors, selections, prices, freight, etc..

Linked below is an example of a dealer near Philadelphia. I'm in a co-op on Dave's Garden with grasses from these folks. Check out their list, sizes and prices. The sizes can be estimated by the pack count. Each cell is a division of a standard 1021 tray (10" x 21"), so a '32' is larger than a '50'.

Here is a link that might be useful: Perennial Market

So. . . a 32 is 1/32 of a tray? I would like to get some Hakonechloa macra. I see they have them at the Perennial Market. It seems like a good way to get more grasses than I'd be able to otherwise.

I've read that H. 'All Gold' is (supposedly) faster growing than the other varieties. I wonder if that's true, and what "faster" really means, as Hakonechloa macra is a slow growing grass, I guess.

Well, thanks for helping me get hooked on grasses, Donn and Achnetherum. Things will look nicer around here, and I'll be a little poorer. ;)

'All Gold' is definitely NOT faster than 'Aureola' nor does it get as tall and cascade or flow quite as dramatically. And I don't find it near as appealing, as the variation in blade color and the purplish stems and fall color present in 'Aureola' is lacking in 'All Gold'. If you are looking for a golden grass, there are others I'd consider first, like Millium effusum 'Aureum' or Carex elata 'Bowle's Golden', both of which are great in shade.

If you want a faster hakone, look for 'Albostriata' - like 'Aureola' but with more of a white variegation, much less yellow or gold tone to it. Grows faster and taller than 'Aureola' and will take more sun. A slightly more upright habit as well.

gardengal48 -
Just got back from the nursery where I went specifically to get some Hakone grass for planting in a shady spot under my deck. They had some fairly scrawny looking "Aureola" there, which is what I specifically wanted and they were $38 a pop. something I thought might be too espensive to pay this late in the season and for something that might not make it through the winter. Then I remembered your suggestion of "Albostriata" and they had a couple of nice spcimines there for about $25 so I went for one. I'm going to plant it just to the left of this planter.

How far away from the foundation and planter should I situate it ? In other words, how big around will it eventually get and how tall ? I thought the cascading look of Hakone grass would look nice there intermixed with some hosta.

Also Donn, if you get a bunch of the Aureola next season, I might be willing to take one or two off your hands .. ;)

Blackie

Gardengal, thanks for sharing your expertise. I will strike 'All Gold' from my list then.

Blackie, would you post another photo of this planter after you've planted the Hakone? Your plant must be a pretty good size for that price.

If that's how expensive these are, it may well be that I won't be able to get any unless some of us do go in together. (Somehow I doubt I'll find any of these at Lowe's!)

Everytime I vist a website of a US nursery I'm surprised about the prices they ask for the plants. Most of the times they're three or four times as expensive as here, in the Netherlands. But $38 or even $25 for Hakone grass! You'd get at least 10 Hakones for that price in this part of the world. Maybe I should start shipping the to the US...would make a nice profit!

bird -

Planted it yeaterday and it actually looks really good. I'll take a picture tomorrow ofter work and post it tomorrow evening.

blackie

Here's what the Hakone grass looks like next to the planter...

That looks really lovely, blackie.

I think I have grass envy.

Yes, the prices here are pretty outrageous Dutch Rondo. That's what drives me to buy things at the big box stores, though I'd rather not. Of course, they're not going to have this grass most likely . . .

I did find some online at Joy Creek for $8 (6" pot). Plus shipping & handling, of course, so it would probably end up to be close to $20 (they have a set $6 handling fee, plus the cost of shipping). Your plant for $25 looks much better (bigger, I'm sure).

I wonder if I could find seeds for Hakone? It'd probably take years for it to get as big as this one, though.

The plugs look like the best deal.

Good luck and I hope to someday join you as a happy Hakone owner! (The grass is always greener. . .)

i am dying to try hakone on the balcony, in lets say 12" pot? but can i overwinter it? i did experiment with reg 8" mum in a pot.i bubble wrapped it and mulched a couple of inches with foam packing pebbles and covered it up with cardboard box, lined with plastic on coldest nights. my balcony is north-east and does not get any sun in winter. i also can nestle it in a larger pot and fill the in-between with foam pebbles. and of course i water a bit on when it's warmer. last winter we only got a few weeks in the 20's at night.has anybody tried smth like this? or has advice?