Native Grasses for Your Garden with Tom Smarr

Native Grasses for Your Garden
Recorded on Thursday, September 15, 2022
Presented by Tom Smarr, Executive Director, Jenkins Arboretum & Gardens
Grasses are not just in the lawn or a green tuft along the roadside. Grasses are an important part of the ecological structure of many plant communities, plus provide aesthetic interest in the garden. There are a wide variety of native species that grow in a spectrum of conditions with a diversity of shapes, colors, and growth habits. Join Tom Smarr to learn more about great species, selection, and design combinations of how to use native grasses in your own garden.
This lecture was a part of our monthly Third Thursday Lecture Series.

[@hivicar]

Such fun!

[@ericjorgensen8028]

Love KF feather reed grass/Calamagrostis... But is that native? I don't believe so, but maybe I'm not remembering correctly??

[@oscarflip8561]

There are native calamagrostis species in the U.S but, you’re definitely correct, Calamagrostis X acutiflora or ‘Karl forester’ feather reed grass is not native to North America. Everyone makes mistakes, but given how overused it is in landscapes, a little hard to believe someone making a presentation on native grasses and sedges including both c3 and c4 grasses as well as explaining poaceae inflorescences, wouldn’t know that 🤔

[@ericjorgensen8028]

@@oscarflip8561 thanks 👍
And...I admit... That I'll keep using it till there is something else that really fills its shoes!
It's everywhere, but every time it does it's job. Karl smiles on every garden.

[@oscarflip8561]

@@ericjorgensen8028 while it’s not necessarily a negative plant since it’s sterile and doesn’t become invasive or even exotic and naturalized, many skipper butterflies use only native grasses as host plants, and birds use those caterpillars from the skipper butterflies as a vital food source, and also eat the seeds of many of the native grasses as a winter food source. So while not necessarily bad, Karl forester grass doesn’t provide many of the important ecological services our native grasses do. I have some at my house that I planted before I knew about the significance of native plants, and it does look nice- but there’s better options. I recommend experimenting with some yourself. There are so many ornamental natives that weren’t mentioned in this video. My favorites are probably little bluestem, blue grama, and split-beard bluestem, but once again, there’s so many for every look! (I think Indian grass, is probably the best look-alike native replacement.) hope you decide to try some native grasses, they may surprise you with their beauty!

[@cherylbicknell5692]

Is there a way to modify the presentation and remove the Karl Forster? It is not a native.