January 2001

Hosta & Ornamental Grass Enthusiasts Newsletter
AAA Ornamentals @ http://www.hostas.com
Vol. 4, No. 1, January, 2001

Where Have All the Newsletters Gone?

Well, my monthly newsletter became a BI-annual newsletter this year. Why? Be began in earnest to acquire some acreage to move to which would enable us to setup a retail nursery. We found it! A 5 acre pasture with 14 feet of elevation change from the highest point to the lowest point. The variation really adds some distinction to the property.

We closed on the property on August 11th. We are setting up the business side of the property now, planning to build our new home this coming summer. So far we have accomplished the following:
o 410 foot driveway
o Parking lot
o 20' x 96' greenhouse
o Well house for business utilities
o Hosta shade arbor installed
o Two grass gardens installed showcasing 6 kinds of ornamental grass
o Electrical and water infrastructure

Plant Availability Highlights

This years selections are now posted on our web-site. This year I worked toward having a great stock of over wintered grasses and hostas so the early spring delivery size of most plants will be a great size!

What's New on our Web-Site??

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter hosta and grass tips are now consolidated on four new WebPages. This link is available from our homepage.

Winter Ornamental Grass Snow Pictures - I have about 53 pictures of ornamental grasses posing just after a 4" snow fall. Just click on Grasses from my homepage, then choose Ornamental Grass Winter Scenes.

SNOW - It's Not A Gardeners 4 Letter Word

One of my wife's favorite Christmas time songs is "White Christmas". As gardeners, we should also keep this on our top ten list through spring. Why? Snow is your winter gardens' most prized companion.

It might sound a bit odd, but the heat trapped in the soil through the summer is released through the winter months. Trapping this heat will prevent the ground temperature from going into an deep, cold freeze. It could be near freezing at the ground and snow line, but the temperature could be -20 degrees f. above the snow! It also keeps the temperature more consistent. A constant freeze and thaw is extremely harmful to plants. Snow is nature's own mulch. It is free, self distributed, and requires no messy cleanup.

The goal is to make sure that whatever happens to a plant happens gradually, not dramatically. 

How good of an insulator is snow? The fluffier the better. All insulation is based on the ability to trap air. Fluffy snow (7% water) is equal to a six inch layer of fiberglass providing R-18 equivalent insulation capability. Wetter snow, or more densely packed snow will have less insulation capabilities because it has less trapped air.

A snow shelter heated with only a body and a candle can maintain 65 degrees Fahrenheit when the outside air temperature is -20. Not bad insulation for ice!

Fortunately for us hosta and ornamental grass enthusiasts, one of the ways that winter kills plants is not an issue. For plants that maintain live but dormant tissue above ground they must worry. When plants "wake up" during a warm spell they begin to transpire water. However the roots are frozen unable to supply needed water to the above ground tissue. The plant then desiccates, or in other words, dies out striking a fatal blow to these plant tissues.

Freeze and thaw cycles are the second way which plants can be winter damaged. The freeze and thaw cycles rearranges the ice crystals in the ground and moves things around. That is why rocks get worked to the surface in spring. Plants also can get heaved out of the ground breaking root structures and exposing them to the much harsher winter temperatures. This is why when storing plants in pots, they should remain frozen through the winter. A pot will experience many more freeze and thaw cycles that a plant in the ground.

Hostas are quite hardy and can even survive on top of the garden during the winter. Grasses when pushed out of their typical zones can be greatly damaged by uncontrolled freeze and thaw cycles. This is why mulching is suggested when pushing plant winter tolerances.

Hostas

I know, your itching to get out in the garden. Start planning now and have a good plan on what hostas you are going to move, and divide. For those places where the space is too small for your hosta plant, dividing it will keep it smaller and thus providing another hosta plant elsewhere in your garden. But, don't go crazy on dividing. Hostas are not mature until they are at least 6 years old. Dividing too frequently will never allow the hosta to develop into their mature form. We can help you out in your other places! :-)

Do you have some places where the hostas really don't love but you keep them there anyway? Like under the overhang where they don't get any water and where your host just does not quite squirt? Consider moving these to a different area where they will thrive and give you move pleasure.

Got some ugly concrete foundation walls to cover. They some of the bigger sized hostas which can easily get 30 inches or taller.

Grasses

For those of you who have a mature clump of grass in your gardens . . . Now, don't they look nice! Your garden has that welcomed vertical look during the flat and drab winter days. We had some 'frozen fog' a few weeks ago. The plants had about 1/4 of frost accumulate on the exposed foliage. Wow, did that look cool. How about freshly fallen snow? I have also seen birds holding on for dear life in my grasses on those brisk winter windy days.

I now have the solution. I purchased one of those DR Field and Brush Mowers to help clear our new 5 acres of land. This is going to be of great use during spring cleanup. It trims about 5 inches above the ground. A perfect height for trimming back grasses. 15HP will be needed to trim back some of these beasts! Ho, ho ho! More power!

With all of the snow this year, need a snow fence? How about a line of ornamental grasses. They certainly look better than snow fences, work just as well, and require no setup or dismantling.

I found a GREAT WAY to decorate ornamental grasses in the winter. I saw a house with some ornamental grasses lit with green and red flood lights. Cool! I'm going to do this myself. I will take some pictures and post them on the web-site to illustrate this cool idea!

Hosta Pick of the Month

How about some previous hosta of the year winners?

Hosta 'Sagae', named Hosta of the Year for 2000 by the American Hosta Growers Association 
Hosta 'Paul's Glory' - 1999
Hosta 'Fragrant Bouquet' - 1998
Hosta 'Patriot' - 1997
Hosta 'So Sweet' - 1996


Ornamental Grass Pick of the Month

Latin Name: Pennisetum alop. 'Little Bunny' (One of my most favorite little grasses!)

Common Name: Fountain Grass 'Little Bunny'

Latin Meaning:

Description: A very dwarf selection ideal for edging or the rock garden.
Inflorescence lighter colored than species and is held (relatively speaking)
above the foliage.

Zone: 5

Origin: Seedling of 'Hameln', found by jack Weiskott of Long Island, NY

Leaf Blade (wxl): 1/8 x 6

Foliage (wxh): 10 x 18

Plume (hxlxw): 20 x 2.50 x 1.25

Sun: Full to 1/2 sun

Moisture: Moist, water in dry conditions

Foliage Color - Summer: 0 Fall: 0 Winter: 0

Space: 12"

Texture:

Habit:

Wisdom from the Garden

(For those "Dune" fans)

It is by hostas alone I set my spring in motion.
It is by the extract of the seeds that gardeners acquire speed -
- The finger nails acquire dirt -
- The dirt becomes a warning.
It is by hostas alone I set my mind in motion.