Annual, OP
This showy, profusely blooming daisy from Australia is a compact flowering plant with attractive, fern-like foliage and masses of brilliant blue daisy-like blooms. The bushy, mounded plants grow to 8-10” tall and blooms profusely through the summer and into the fall. Brachycome flowers are fragrant and attract bees and butterflies. Prefers rich, well-drained soil and tolerates some drought once established. Perfect for containers and hanging baskets in full to part sun
Plants
CALIFORNIA POPPY ‘GOLDEN WEST’
Annual, OP, Bee favorite
Introduced in 1907 heirloom ‘Golden West’ has cup-shaped flowers of sunny yellow with orange centers and petal-backs. This selection of native California poppy is larger flowered but similar to the original that Spanish explorers encountered by the million, calling its native land ‘the land of fire’. Thrives in full sun, needs very little water once established, self-sows, and is very often perennial at mile-high elevation. 8-12” x 6”
CALIFORNIA POPPY ‘MIKADO’
Annual, OP, Bee favorite
Deep orange satiny petals with scarlet backs grace this heirloom variety. Burnished four-petaled flowers and sea-green, finely cut leaves look beautiful in masses, perfect with blue cornflowers in any well-drained soil. Native Americans used the sap for toothache, and it’s recommended for its analgesic properties. If bloom slows, cut back for another flush of flowers that continue until a hard freeze. 1936 heirloom. Self-sows and is very often perennial at mile-high elevation. Very drought tolerant & easy, 8-12”x6”.
CALIFORNIA POPPY ‘MISSION BELLS’
Annual, OP, Bee-favorite
Mission Bells is a flowering mix of brilliantly colored, saucer-shaped, double or semi-double, orange, yellow, white, red, and pink California Poppies, selections of the California native wildflower. The finely divided foliage is bluish-green, the plants grow fast and bloom all summer long. 8-12”x 6”.
CANTERBURY BELLS, Blue (Campanula medium)
Biennial, OP heirloom
If you like to grow cut flowers for bouquets, this one’s for you! Each plant provides masses of large, vivid purply-blue flowers on 18 to 36” tall scapes, from late spring through mid-summer. And Canterbury Bells are among the longest-lasting of cut-flowers. The only caveat is that you need to wait until their second year of growth to get flowers. First-year plants grow a low rosette of foliage. Definitely worth the wait! Grow in sun or part-shade in fertile, well-drained soil. Planting a group together helps plants support each other without staking, but in windy locations stakes may be needed. Plant 12-15” apart. Cold-hardy to Zone 5.
CLEOME ‘CHERRY QUEEN’
Annual, OP, Bee, Butterfly, Hummer favorite
Deep carmine pink buds open to lighter pink blossoms, giving an airy appearance because the stamens and pistil protrude several inches beyond the petals. Massed together, they have a charming, old-fashioned look (it is an heirloom variety). Cherry Queen blooms atop sturdy 4’ stalks in summer and fall for up to 12 weeks. If pinched when about 6” tall, each plant will branch out to produce a half dozen or more blooms. Self-sows and tolerates heat and humidity.
CLEOME ‘ROSE QUEEN’
Annual, OP, Bee, Butterfly, Hummer fave
Deep rose buds open to lighter pink blossoms, giving an airy appearance because the stamens and pistil protrude several inches beyond the petals. Massed together, they have a charming, old-fashioned look (it is an heirloom variety). Rose Queen blooms in summer and fall for up to 12 weeks. If pinched when about 6 inches tall, each plant will branch out to produce a half dozen or more blooms. Self-sows and tolerates heat and humidity.
KIWI BLUE HONEYWORT (Cerinthe major)
Annual, OP, Bee favorite
Its almost steel blue-green foliage, sensational deep blue bracts and small purple flowers make a wonderful impact in the garden or containers. Early in the season the plant resembles a garden pea but as stems lengthen they branch, producing showy blue flower bracts with small purple bells that seem to grow out of the leaves and stems. Very attractive to bees, heat-tolerant through summer and hardy down to at least 23 degrees F. Cool nights in fall produce even deeper blue color. Plants bloom continuously from spring to fall. This self-sowing plant drops its large pea sized seeds in late summer and early fall and will grow in and around the same patch for years. Easy to grow in sun/part shade, low maintenance. To 18-24”h &w.
TALL BLUE LARKSPUR
Annual, OP, Bumblebee, Butterfly, Hummer favorite
Blue Larkspur is a very hardy annual wildflower, native to S. Europe and Eurasia, but widely distributed in the US as an introduced species. The ¾” blooms can vary in from pale to deep blue and purple, and sturdy branching stems to 4’ or more deliver quick height and sumptuous color over a long season. If spent flowers are removed, it blooms for several months from late April on, and can provide masses of cut-flowers. Grow in sun, in well-drained soil with some compost added for happiest plants and exuberant bloom. Self-sowing, very drought tolerant, and deer resistant (CAUTION: alkaloids in seeds and aerial parts are toxic to mammals).
Our Best Selection of Plants for the 2022 Season Is Here Now!
Our best selection of plants for the 2022 season is here now! Even though record numbers of customers have poured in this month and left with record numbers of great plants and products, we STILL have tons and keep bringing out more!
We thought you might like to know more about some of the great but less familiar plants we have in stock right now, so we’ve put together some Plant Portraits for you here. [Read More]
Cold Snap Alert!
We were just getting comfy and confident in the progressing spring weather, when Mother Nature reminds us that She is in control!
According to the NOAA extended forecast for Boulder, CO, there is a Hazardous Weather Outlook for northeast and north central Colorado later this week. Our weather is expected to shift beginning Thursday night into Friday when a cooler and wetter pattern moves in. Night temperatures Thursday are forecast to drop to about 40˚F, and day temperatures will hover in the low 50s. Friday and Saturday could bring even lower temperatures, with highs of only 45 and lows of 33, possibly accompanied by strong winds, rain, snow and/or H_ _L! It appears that this weather pattern could continue through Sunday / Monday. Temperatures in your garden will depend on your elevation and exposure, and could drop below freezing.
What this means for your plant care, especially tender vegetables, and annuals, is that it’s time to prepare to bundle them up later in the week before the cold snap arrives. Here’s how you can best do so. [Read More]
Springtime Pruning for Roses & Flowering Shrubs
We’re close to Boulder Valley’s “average last frost” date, and except for being windy and dry, it sure feels like Spring! Lots of gardeners are asking whether it’s safe to prune now, especially roses and shrubs. The answer is YES! But…..
Pay attention to the characteristics of the particular shrubs and roses you’re thinking of pruning. If the shrubs in question won’t be in bloom until summer or fall (for example: Blue Mist Spirea, Rose of Sharon, Russian Sage, Rabbit Brush, Seven Sons, Butterfly Bush, ‘Mongolian Gold’ Bush Clematis), now is a great time to prune them for compact form, removal of winter-kill and dead tips. These shrubs bloom on new (this year’s) wood, so you won’t be diminishing their bloom potential by pruning now. [Read More]
Specific Pepper and Tomato Arrivals

Black Krim Tomato
It’s that time of year! And last weekend many of you were here to gather your summer vegetable starts. Are you looking for a specific variety of Peppers and/or Tomatoes? Here are the varieties of pepper and tomato that are arriving later this week, around Thursday or Friday (May 12/13). [Read More]
PEPPER OFFERINGS – 2022 Newsletter
A few of our NEW PEPPERS
SWEET PEPPERS
BANGLES BLEND
60 days green, 80 days color, Open-pollinated
For eating fresh by the handful, stuffed for hors d’oeuvres or pickled. The large seed cavity of each sweet, crunchy, squat 1.5”-wide pepper is perfect for stuffing. Upright 18-24″ plants are excellent for decorative containers. Each plant produces a single color of pepper, purple, gold, or red.
ALMA PAPRIKA Sweet Pepper
70-80 days, Heirloom
Extremely productive plants are loaded with 2-3″ round peppers with thick meaty flesh. They ripen from creamy-white to red. The flavor is sweet and delicious, with just a hint of warmth. One of the best for drying when red and then powdering for paprika; also great fresh.
Unique Peonies
We have a limited number of choice Peonies in 2-gallon pots, ready to make a long-lived presence in your garden! These varieties are different from the ones we will have in stock in a couple of weeks, which will be in 1-gallon pots.
Peonies are classic garden plants that add a lot of charm and beauty to the garden, increasing in size and beauty for many decades. Their gorgeous, fragrant blooms and lush foliage have made them popular for many years. When a peony is finished blooming, the attractive foliage mound makes a great seasonal ‘shrub’. And, of course, the sensuous flowers make stunning bouquets. Cut them when the buds have swelled and are beginning to open slightly. [Read More]
BANGLES BLEND Sweet Pepper – NEW
60 days green, 80 days color, Open-pollinated
For eating fresh by the handful, stuffed for hors d’oeuvres or pickled. The large seed cavity of each sweet, crunchy, squat 1.5”-wide pepper is perfect for stuffing. Upright 18-24″ plants are excellent for decorative containers. Each plant produces a single color of pepper, purple, gold or red.
BULLNOSE BELL Sweet Pepper – NEW
55 days green, 80 days red, Open-pollinated
Likely introduced to North America in the 1700s, Bull Nose peppers were grown in Thomas Jefferson’s garden at Monticello, and still are. Medium- large, crisp, sweet fruits ripen from green to red with excellent flavor, great for salads, hors d’oevres and for cooking. Plants are productive and sturdy
GLOW Sweet Pepper – NEW
53 days green, 73 days orange ripe, F1 hybrid
Deliciously sweet and fruity, these beautiful, bright orange, thick-walled 2–3 lobed, tapered fruits are 4–5″ long. The medium-size plants yield well. They are early-ripening and easy to grow in diverse climates. Bred by Janika Eckert.
GOLDEN TREASURE Sweet Pepper – NEW
80 days, Open-pollinated
Golden Treasure is a very tasty and sweet Italian heirloom frying/stuffing pepper, growing to 9” long, with juicy flesh and thin skin. It is also delicious roasted, or raw as a snack or salad pepper. Golden Treasure peppers ripen from green to a glossy golden yellow on very productive plants 2-3’ tall
The Tomatoes are Coming!
The bad news is that last week’s small delivery of tomato starts froze when the wind blew open the back door of our greenhouse in the middle of the night.
The good news is that the next 38 flats will be ready for sale on Friday! (and there will be many more becoming available through April and May). This week’s tomato starts include: [Read More]
COLLARD GREENS: Easy to Grow, Nutritious & Delicious
Though commonly associated with culinary traditions of the Southeastern US, collards originated in Europe, along with kale, cabbage etc., and are easy to grow in cooler climates, too.
Grow collards in full sun (for fastest growth), or part shade. Give them plenty of space, 18” apart. Collards appreciate moist, fertile soil with plenty of organic matter (compost) and applications of compost tea. [Read More]
Welcome New Gardeners!
We are here for you! You’re in the high desert/steppe now, with short growing seasons, sudden temperature changes, unpredictable precipitation, low humidity, drying winds, alkaline soils that are low in organic matter and nitrogen, hot summers and cold winters. Despite these challenges, gardens can thrive here, and be productive, rewarding and beautiful!
Our gardens can support us by providing beauty, nutrient-dense food and plant medicine, and shelter from temperature and weather extremes. At the same time, our gardens can give us an opportunity for nurturing that goes beyond our own garden plants, supporting our entire local ecosystem, including our essential insects, birds, native plants and other wildlife. [Read More]
Supporting our Colorado Trees
So they can support us!
Last Friday Denver Botanic Gardens hosted a day-long conference on Tree Diversity. This timely subject arises because of the importance of trees to the livability of our cities and suburbs and the degree to which the effects of Climate Change have already begun to affect our urban forest. Trees help cool everything from our gardens and patios and parking lots to our cities and our planet. With stresses like sudden, dramatic temperature changes, drought, and severe windstorms, plus the devastation wrought by the Emerald Ash Borer to our millions of Ash trees, it’s time to re-evaluate the limited palette of trees we’ve been planting for many decades, and investigate new, more resilient possibilities. [Read More]
The SEED Situation
“The less biodiverse any system is, the greater the potential for its collapse.” Janisse Ray, from The Seed Underground: A Growing Revolution to Save Food.
We’ve been reading headlines stating that 93% of seed varieties available in the early 20th century had disappeared from commerce by 1980. The biggest factor in this drastic decline in diversity is consolidation of the industry. The big multi-national corporations have systematically bought up smaller companies and in so doing have ended production of vast numbers of time-tested open-pollinated and older hybrid varieties and prioritized the production of new patented proprietary hybrids. [Read More]
Cutting Back Ornamental Grasses
Historically February is one of Colorado’s snowiest months, and finally we’re beginning to see evidence of that this year! Additionally, the forecast indicates more to come. It remains to be seen how some of our marginally hardy garden plants have suffered from the below zero temperatures.
Many of us may have the tops of ornamental grasses and various perennials peeking out of the blanket of the snow, which provides habitat for overwintering beneficial insects and it helps to keep the plant roots and crowns warmer. But very soon it will be time to cut back Cool-Season ornamental grasses before their active growth begins, which will allow light to penetrate the entire clump. See Eve’s instructions, below. [Read More]
Achnatherum calamagrostis UNDAUNTED® Alpine Plume Grass (Alpine Plume Grass) | Warm Season

(Photo and description credit: Plant Select.)
Alpine plume grass is a spectacular long-lived grass from high mountain meadows in central and southern Europe. A mature plant makes a dramatic specimen, with several dozen flower heads waving above a graceful fountain of fresh green foliage. The flowers persist from summer until the following spring when the entire plant should be cut back to make room for the new season’s growth. Unlike many other ornamental grasses, the foliage doesn’t die out in the clump’s center over time.
Andropogon gerardii (Big Bluestem) | Warm Season
Native! Big Bluestem is taller and has a wider blade than Little Bluestem and is somewhat upright but also arching. It also has attractive reddish and purple fall colors. Big Bluestem is one of the dominant components of the Tallgrass Prairies across the Great Plains, where it can reach 8’ in height. Here it can range from 2 to 5’ tall, depending on water and nutrients available. In late summer, Big Bluestem’s purplish red flowers appear in groups of three or six, which look like a turkey foot – hence the nickname: “Turkey Foot Grass”. The root system can extend down more than 10 feet. Each year, a third of these roots die, feeding soil microorganisms and opening up channels for water. This plant is drought tolerant once it’s established. Attracts birds and butterfly larvae.
Plant in Full Sun. Hardy to Zone 4.
Andropogon (Schizachyrium) scoparium (Little Bluestem) | Warm Season

(Photo credit: High Country Gardens.)
Native! Little Bluestem is very erect to 24”-30” with fine foliage and blooms in late summer-early fall. Blooms turn white and catch the early morning and late afternoon sun beautifully when back-lit. The foliage turns copper and looks good for a long time. Very drought-tolerant. Selections ‘The Blues’ and ‘Prairie Blues’ have very blue foliage during the growing season. ‘Blaze’ is a colorful selection of the common native in this region.
Hardy to Zone 3.
Bothriochloa scoparium, syn. B. laguroides (Silver Beard Grass) | Warm Season
Native! Silver Beardgrass is a native perennial clump-grass with fuzzy, light-gathering, white fruiting heads atop tall, slender, stiff stems and narrow blades. At first glance it looks like foxtail grass, but up close you see that instead of the flower head being compact and spike-like, as in the foxtails, it’s a narrow, branched panicle. It occurs along roads, in spots in fields of Big Bluestem, on the rocky slopes of hills, and it’s a very tough grass specializing in dry, open places from South America to Colorado. It’s not flamboyant-looking until those slender, white heads catch the back-lighting sun in late summer; then they are very eye-catching.
Bouteloua curtipendula (Side-Oats Grama) | Warm Season
Side-Oats Grama is a smaller meadow grass than Bouteloua gracilis (Blue Grama). It’s seed heads and foliage turn a beautiful dark purple-red in fall.
Hardy to Zone 3
Bouteloua gracilis ‘Blonde Ambition’ PP 22,048 | Warm Season

(Photo Credit: Plant Select)
‘Blonde Ambition’ was discovered in 2007 by David Salman of Santa Fe Greenhouses, who noticed an outstanding specimen growing within a stand of robust Hachita blue grama. At 28-32” it was taller and wider than the standard, its leaves were a bright blue-green and it was topped with a multitude of its distinctive flag-like flowers, although these were chartreuse rather than the usual black or brown and they were held appealingly at a 90 degree angle to the leaves. It was apparent this was a plant that could stand on its own as an ornamental.
This exceptional plant was found to have chartreuse flowers that turned blonde as the season progressed and the rigid stems popped back up after snowstorms, rather than remaining prostrate, so its season of attractiveness lasted well into the winter. Grow ‘Blonde Ambition’ in clay, loam, or sandy soils, with full sun and moderate to very low H2O.
Hardy to Zone 4, 8,000’ elevation.
Calamagrostis acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’s’ (Karl Foerster’s Feather Reed Grass) | Cool Season
The most popular and over-used ornamental grass, for good reason. Medium sized (to 4’ tall), very erect form, easy to grow and highly adaptable to everything but shade, very durable flower/seed heads remain attractive all summer, fall and winter. No fall foliage color. Cut down in early February. Try to avoid plantings that look like rows of soldiers standing at attention!
Hardy to Zone 4.
Calamagrostis brachytricha (Korean Feather Reed Grass) | Cool Season
To 3’ or 4’ tall, with a graceful fountain-like or mounded shape, and waits until the end of the summer to flower. Can take some shade. Very pretty, with pinkish plumes that dry tan. No fall color. Plant Select. Should be used more.
Hardy to Zone 4.
Carex appalachica (Appalachian Sedge) | Cool Season
A small fountain-like clumping sedge, 6-10”h x 10-12” w, very fine-textured, bright light green and very attractive. Native to woods in Eastern N. America, it grows well in dry shade or part shade. It mixes well with perennials and serves as a neat groundcover or edger. Its tenacious roots will prevent erosion on shady slopes, and it can grow among tree roots. Very small, attractive blooms occur in spring, supporting beneficial insects.
Hardy to Zone 4.
Carex caryophllea ‘Beatlemania’ (‘Beatlemania’ Variegated Vernal Sedge) | Cool Season
This petite sedge is rhizomatous and spreads. Its long glossy blades are slightly variegated yellow and green, and curve to the ground, giving it a mop-headed look. Makes an excellent groundcover or small ‘lawn’ (just to look at, not to step on) in shady gardens, especially Asian-styled gardens. Almost evergreen.
Hardy to Zone 5.
Chasmanthium latifolium (Northern Sea Oats, River Oats) | Warm Season
A US native, though not native here, this grass grows well in part shade. The wide, bright green blades emerge from the stems at many heights, giving it a slightly bamboo-like look. The pendulous seed clusters in late summer are composed of very attractive flat, plaited spikelets, starting out pale green, later turning tan. Foliage stays green until fall, when it turns yellow. It will self-sow but is not difficult to control.
Hardy to Zone 3.
Eragrostis trichodes (Sand Love Grass) | Warm Season
Native! This medium-sized grass, to 2-3’ x 2-3’, loves to grow in sandy soil as its name suggests, but adapts to many soils with low to moderate moisture. It is effective in masses and can be an excellent component of a meadow. Reddish tones begin to show in late summer, and the haze of tiny purple-pink seeds in late summer are beautiful. Sand Love Grass tends to rot in the center as it gets older, and self-sows readily.
Plant in full sun. Hardy to Zone 5.
Festuca glauca, F. thurberi (Blue Fescue) | Cool Season

(Photo credit: High Country Gardens.)
Evergreen. This year we carry F. glauca ‘Boulder Blue’, a 10”-tall selection with very blue foliage, good form, hardiness, longevity and drought-tolerance. We also have F. ovina “Sea Urchin”, smaller, finer texture, good for rock gardens or Asian-style gardens, and Festuca thurberi, which is native from 5,000’ to 10,000’ elevation and is nearly evergreen, to 12” tall.
Hardy to Zone 4.
Helictotrichon sempervirens (Blue Oat or Avena Grass) | Evergreen
A much sought-after modest-sized evergreen grass with powder-blue blades, and that has some shade tolerance. It forms an open, symmetrical mound of foliage from 12” to 24” high, and a bit wider, looking like the ‘big brother’ of Blue Fescue. Bloom stalks add another 12 to 18”, and provide interest for several months.
Hardy to Zone 4.
Hierochloe odorata (Vanilla Sweetgrass, Fragrant Holy Grass) | Cool Season
Vanilla Sweet Grass is an aromatic, cool-season perennial growing 10-24” tall, blooming in June to July, and spreading about 2 feet per year by underground rhizomes. The natural range of Sweet Grass is Greenland to Alaska, south to New Jersey, the Midwest, and Arizona, in zones 3 to 7. Its natural habitat is wetlands, prairies, and savannas in wet to medium moisture soils.
A sacred grass in Native American ceremonies, Sweet Grass is braided and burned as a ‘smudge’ to purify body and soul and invite the presence of good spirits. The glossy green leaves have a pleasant vanilla fragrance. Because of its aggressive, rhizomatous nature it can be difficult to eliminate if it has spread to areas where it is not wanted.
Though Sweet Grass prefers rich, moist soils, it will grow in almost any soil that receives a minimum of a half day of sun. Sandy, well-drained sites will require mulch and watering during times of low rainfall. Add compost to sand or clay soils. The preferred pH range is 6 to 8.
Koeleria macrantha (June Grass) | Cool Season

(Photo credit: Prairie Moon Nursery)
Native! This lovely small green clump grass has attractive dense, compact seed heads starting in, you guessed it, June. Good for prairie and foothills gardens.
Hardy to Zone 3 to 4 and tolerant of full sun or part shade, low to moderate watering.
Muhlenbergia reverchonii ‘Undaunted’ (‘Undaunted’ Ruby Muhly Grass) | Warm Season

(Photo Credit: Plant Select.)
A Plant Select winner that is hardy here, but not at higher elevations. It is native to Oklahoma and Texas and is said to grow where there’s water (one common name is ‘Seep Muhly’), yet some horticulturists here recommend growing it pretty dry. When well-grown, it makes a beautiful and graceful 2’ x 3’ mound of fine mid-green blades covered in late summer by a shimmering haze of tiny pink/red flowers, then reddish seeds.
Hardy to Zone 5.
We also offer the native Muhlenbergia montana (Mountain Muhly), which will grow in moderate to dry conditions, with a less dense display of seedheads than Ruby Muhly Grass. Mountain muhly is a strongly tufted perennial grass, 8-20 in. tall, with loose, narrow panicles and light-green. leaves.
Nasella (Stipa) tenuissima (Mexican Feather Grass) | Evergreen
Also known as Ponytail Grass, this small grass, to 14” tall, has very fine-textured blades that make a ‘fountain’ of green. It can sometimes be evergreen. This grass may not be very long-lived, but will replace itself with seedlings, which can be relocated when small.
Hardy to Zone 5.
Oryzopsis hymenoides (Indian Rice Grass) | Cool Season
Native! Up to 2’ tall. Native to Boulder County and much of the interior West. Grows in very dry areas, in full sun. Graceful, open clumps of very narrow blades, and delicately branched flowering stalks in June. Small pearl-like white seeds are held individually on the much-branched stalks and were collected by Native Americans for use as a grain. Also, an important food source for wildlife. Old seed germinates better than new seed. Needs supplemental summer watering if you want to keep it from going dormant. Excellent meadow grass, perfect in native xeriscapes.
Hardy to Zone 3.
Panicum virgatum (Switch Grass) | Warm Season
Native! Switchgrass was an important component of the Tallgrass Prairie. It tolerates a wide range of soils, including dry ones, but prefers moist soils that are not too rich in nitrogen, and grows best in full sun. Here it grows to about 3’ tall and wide, topped in midsummer by finely-textured pinkish flower panicles that hover over the foliage like an airy cloud. Seed plumes turn beige and persist well into winter, providing an excellent seed source for songbirds. Fall foliage color is yellow, but selections like ‘Shenandoah’ develop beautiful deep red and purple foliage color in late summer.
Salt-tolerant. Hardy to Zone 2.
Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’ (Hameln Dwarf Fountain Grass) | Warm Season
‘Hameln’ is a smaller and hardier variety of fountain grass with three distinctive seasons of attractive displays. Green, fine-textured grass blades up to 2 feet tall are tipped with soft, foxtail-shaped seed heads. Foliage turns rust gold in autumn and pale blonde in winter, and is a favorite stopover for birds. Taking moderate watering, it’s great match for late-season perennials and colorful shrubs in the sunny mixed border.
Hardy to Zone 5.
Schizachyrium (Andropogon) scoparium (Little Bluestem) | Warm Season
Native! Little Bluestem is very erect to 24”-30” with fine foliage and blooms in late summer-early fall. Blooms turn white and catch the early morning and late afternoon sun beautifully when back-lit. The foliage turns copper and looks good for a long time. Very drought-tolerant. Selections ‘The Blues’ and ‘Prairie Blues’ have very blue foliage during the growing season. ‘Blaze’ is a colorful selection of the common native in this region.
Hardy to Zone 3.
Sporobolis airoides (Alkali Sacaton) | Warm Season
Native! The ‘little brother’ of Giant Sacaton. The foliage mass is about 2’x2’, with the large, pinkish airy bloom/seed plumes rising to 40-48″ tall. For a ‘warm-season’ grass, Alkali Sacaton gets growing quite early in spring, so prune it back in February. A robust native, Alkali Sacaton flowers for many months, beginning in June. Deep rooted, this grass grows well in all soil types including sand, loam and clay as well as alkaline and salty soils, and prefers moderate to low moisture. On the prairie Sporobolus is used by animals for forage, cover and nesting. Its seeds are relished by birds.
Hardy to Zone 4.
Beautiful Autumn Colors
We are all enjoying and appreciating the exceptional fall colors this year. The yellows are especially rich, and the reds are especially vivid. What is going on when the green leaves turn colors and why are the colors so spectacular this year?
We know that the green color of the leaves comes from the pigment chlorophyll that makes it possible for plants to capture energy from sunlight and use it to make the sugars that feed the whole planet. When the long days of summer get shorter and shorter, highlighted by the fall equinox this year on September 22, the plants get less and less sunlight and less and less energy to make chlorophyll. When leaves contain less chlorophyll, other pigments become more dominant. [Read More]