Ornamental Grasses for Cold Climates

By Mary Hockenberry Meyer
Dept. of Horticultural Science, University of Minnesota
U od M Extension Service, 2004
40 pages

Reviewed by Gary Bebeau

This short, soft-cover 8-1/2” x 11” handbook is perfect for anyone wanting researched data on the planting of ornamental grass in our cold climate areas of zones 3 and 4 (all of the state of Minnesota, for example). The research was done at the University of Minnesota over a period of 17 years.

While the author gives basic information on the growing and care of grasses, her greatest contribution to the reader is in the details. The importance of this book is in the number of cultivars covered and specific information about each of them. While most native plant books cover only a few types, this book covers 40 types.

Grasses are basically cool-season or warm-season types, and in your planting goals you must know which they are. This section of the book carefully details each plant and includes color pictures.

The book even has a pronunciation guide for the botanical name.

One of the more commonly available grasses is “miscanthus” and some cultivars of it you DO NOT want to plant. For selection, the author gives you a chart of 56 miscanthus cultivars to choose from and outlines their varied characteristics.

The back of the book provides you with a planting guide based upon desired result in terms of color, texture, screening, erosion control, sun/shade, self-seeding, container growing, winter interest, etc.

This ia a helpful book for the home landscaper, and it’s a great book for people who prefer grass they don’t have to mow!