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GrassSolutions™
An e-newsletter from Hoffman Nursery, Inc.
March 2011
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For archived editions, click here.
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Follow John Hoffman  @wegrowgoodgrass as he explores grasses and the green industry.
HNI Website Username: great Password: grass
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 In this Issue
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Expand Your Palette
...with grasses and sedges that deserve more attention. The Perennial Diva, Stephanie Cohen, starts our series on underused grasses. Hear which selections she uses in her Pennsylvania landscape.
In the News
Grasses go way beyond ornamental--think plastic bottles and airports--and Rick Darke lists his favorites.
The Latest
Our seedless Miscanthus project and other collaborations with NC State researchers are getting attention.
New Plants
This southwest US native has a presence that rivals other better-known grasses. It's one of this year's favorites for us.
Comments
We introduce our new GrassSolutions™ logo, correct a mistake, ask your opinion, and pass along kind words.
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Browse our Current Availability
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| Expand Your Palette | |
Your Grass and Sedge Palette, that is. Over the next several newsletters, we will be interviewing our colleagues about their favorite, and often underused, grasses and sedges. This section will give you insight into what works best in different parts of the country and why these grasses deserve more attention. We start with someone who tells it like it is...
Stephanie Cohen taught Horticulture at Temple University for many years and now gardens and consults from her home in southeastern Pennsylvania. Known as The Perennial Diva , Stephanie has written several books and recently co-authored The Nonstop Garden with Jennifer Benner.
Here are Stephanie's picks:
- Pennisetum orientale 'Karley Rose' PP12909
- Nassella tenuissima
- Panicum virgatum 'Northwind'
- Luzula species
For photos and Stephanie's thoughts on these grasses, read the full article.
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| In the News |
In the "Minimize Your Lawn" Department
- This article from the Sonoma County Master Gardeners in California encourages readers to think about water-wise native and ornamental grasses as alternatives to traditional turf. Irrigation poses huge difficulties for gardeners in this region, so it makes a lot of sense to swap thirsty turf grass for grasses that are well-adapted to the climate.
- Susan Harris, garden blogger and founder of the Lawn Reform Coalition, had a recent article in Fine Homebuilding. Susan, who's chatted with us about ornamental grasses, makes the case for reducing the size of lawns. You can link to her article through her blog post.
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Grasses work well in and on the margins of rain gardens.
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Thousands of Uses
- In central Missouri, farmers on marginal land are looking to Miscanthus x giganteus to help secure their economic futures. Read more about it in this article from the Columbia Business Times online.
- Can grasses save lives? Well, maybe not directly, but researchers at Mississippi State University are looking at grasses to help reduce bird strikes at airports. Find out what they're doing here.
- Plastic from grasses? You bet. Greenhouse Grower reports that PepsiCo has developed a bottle made entirely from plant-based sources, including switchgrass. Read more here.
- NMPro recently noted that 10,000 Rain Gardens has a searchable web database of plants for rain gardens. Grasses and grasslike plants are smart choices for rain gardens. See our suggestions in the GrassSolutions ™ Index in the back of the HNI 2010-2011 catalog and on our Facebook page.
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Schizachyrium scoparium 'The Blues', one of Rick Darke's favorites.
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Grasses in the Landscape
- For those of you still feeling winter's pinch...Karma Larsen of the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum wrote an article recently for The Fence Post, a weekly farm and ranch lifestyle publication covering Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming. She extols the virtues of ornamental grasses in midwinter and suggests a list of wonderful grasses for the home landscape. See Karma's article.
- An article on HGTV's website gives a quick list of author Rick Darke's favorite grasses.
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The Latest at HNI
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Jill and John Hoffman among trial plants developed in collaboration with N.C. State University researchers and extension specialists.
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Seedless Miscanthus and Other Collaborations with NC State
Over the past few years, Hoffman Nursery has been collaborating with faculty and graduate students at North Carolina State University (NCSU). These projects have been fruitful for everyone, and they've recently been highlighted by the University and the industry press.
While we value all the projects, developing a seedless Miscanthus is the one most likely to garner attention. Read more about this and our other projects on NCSU's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) website. And, check out this one-minute CALS video with John Hoffman and Shannon Currey talking about our work with NCSU faculty. If you're a Facebook fan, you can also see the video on the North Carolina Cooperative Extension's page.
NMPro picked up the news story and featured our seedless Miscanthus quest on their website.
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Spotlight on New Plants for 2011
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Sporobolus wrightii in full bloom
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New plant preview!
Giant Sacaton - North American native
- Long, elegant plumes
- Sun & dry to wet soil
- Adapts to varied habitats
- Zones 5-9
Giant Sacaton's full arching foliage topped with showy plumes brings to mind the exotic and fanciful.
Yet, Sporobolus wrightii is a North American native. And it is a beauty. One-to-two foot plumes wave above narrow open blades and the blooms persist well into winter. It is a dramatic specimen in the landscape. In mixed plantings, it acts as an impressive accent. It is also an ornamental solution to erosion on a slope, and in mild climates, it will retain some green foliage year round. This plant is an excellent substitution for Miscanthus.
In the wild, this Southwest native primarily grows in desert-like habitats; however, it is also found in clay flats, floodplains, and desert lakes and marshes. This adaptability translates into drought, salt, and alkaline tolerance in the landscape. A great GrassSolution™.
Call (800-203-8590) or email us for more information or to book your order.
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Comments
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 An Introduction
We're thrilled to debut our new GrassSolutions™ logo this month. It was created by Jessie Couch Brinkley, our graphic designer of choice and owner of JBCouch Design, Inc. Jessie also designs our catalog, and we were happy to have her involved with the project. The green light bulb emphasizes the bright ideas that GrassSolutions™ represent: grasses solving landscape issues in an aesthetically pleasing and environmentally friendly way. Look for the GrassSolutions™ logo throughout our newsletter and in our catalog coming in July.
Mea Culpa (A Correction)
In last month's GrassSolutions™, we noted that John Hoffman talked with Scott Hokunson of Blue Heron Landscape Design at New England Grows. We included a link to Scott' design firm (we thought), but we mistakenly linked to a firm with a similar name in the mid-Atlantic region. Scott practices sustainable design and restoration in Northern Connecticut and Central Massachusetts, so we were a little off. Our apologies to Scott, with whom we enjoy chatting about grasses. To get in on the conversation, try following Scott on Twitter or check in on his blog . Follow this correct link to visit Scott's website and see his designs: Blue Heron Landscape Design.
What Would You Like Us to Grow?
A recent email from a landscape architect gave us some food for thought. He had specific suggestions about what he'd like to see us grow that we aren't doing now. We'll share those suggestions with you in future issues; in the meantime, do you have a wish list? Drop us an email and let us know what you'd like to see added to our offerings.
More Kudos
Conrad Gilbertson with Heritage Nursery West in Nebraska recently gave us a happy glow with his comment:
"Being a first time customer, everything arrived in a timely manner and the plants were healthy and well rooted. I look forward to doing more business in the future."
We appreciate Conrad's kind words and his business. Especially during this busy season, it's encouraging to hear that we're doing our job well.
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