Pink Muhly

9 years ago

I bought several of these but they are four inch pots, that's pretty small. Should I plant them close together in order to get a decent display in the fall?

Featured Answer

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

9 years ago

Plants grow :-) Those 4" starts will be full sized grasses in a couple of seasons so space them now for their ultimate size of 2-3' across. It is always best to plan for the future with plant growth, not for immediate (or relatively immediate) impact.

Planting closer than advised will result in crowding and perhaps shading out growth and one or more will need to be removed down the road.

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Comments (9)

bossyvossy
9 years ago
Probably yes
lucillle thanked bossyvossy
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lucillle
Original Author
9 years ago
Garden gal that makes sense. I have seen all sorts of size estimates for pink Muhly, if they have 3 feet will they be happy?
bossyvossy
9 years ago
I s/h said what I did and let you apply )or not to your garden conditions. I deliberately planted in full sun in a dryish area, as I didn't want to be dividing sooner rather than later. I planted 3' apart. After 3 years I almost have a row not quite. I think that last year's wet summer promoted some growth. I planted 2 gal plants.

i was thinking 4" plants would take a while to clump? Given MY conditions.
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lucillle
Original Author
9 years ago
Bossyvossy we are both in Texas so maybe our conditions are comparable. 4" plants are small. I would not get much of a show for a year or two and that is what I was asking.

On the other hand, I don't know how deep Muhly roots are but some of these grasses are hard to dig up and move.
bossyvossy
9 years ago
Well, if it took me 2-3 years for 2 gal plants to almost grow together, 4" would take much longer than that, it would seem. Again, given my growing conditions.
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bossyvossy
9 years ago
Also, don't expect the beautiful pink tufts right away. It took mine 2 seasons that I remember to be showy like in pics. But they definitely get better each year so worth being patient
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lucillle
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
The Muhly grass just arrived. I looked at it and it is a (small) clump of grass plants, not one individual plant. So I don't see that it would matter to plant them close together like you suggested Bossy. Whether it is several small containers or one larger container, it is still a bunch of grass plants. If the ultimate size is 2 or 3 feet across, (how does it know that, if it is a bunch of single plants?) it will get there logically no matter what.

Sorry for all the questions but I am just not understanding and I don't have much experience with grasses.
bossyvossy
9 years ago
Well now I'm confused also. Let's see. A little 4" pot of pink muhly won't look like much for a long while. Personally (and b/c I'm generally impatient) I would plant them together to create an illusion of having a bigger plant. The consequence of that is that I'd be dividing sooner, rather than later and that's not as easy a task as dividing daylilies.

a more patient person would plant the 4" plants as gardengal recommends and patiently watch them grow.

hope that helps
lucillle thanked bossyvossy