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Panicum very slow. Calamagrostis?
I always seem to invest heavily in something that doesn't do well, rather than just buy one and check it out first!
for my new grasses border I went with panicum helger hain. I bought lots. They were small, I did pot on, and they went out about 6 weeks ago. They seem to have put on no growth at all. Not dead, just really small.
i read another thread on panicum being really slow to get going, but is that establishing ? Or every year? If it does nothing by July every year it's not the right one. The border looks empty.
I saw calamagrostis Karl foerster in someone's garden yesterday, already huge and tall and gorgeous. (not envious aaaarrrrgggg!)
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Calamagrostis Karl Foerster is very vigorous - got lots here doing well. Easy to divide in spring. Not entirely sure how much I like it though - it's very straight.
Never had any success with Panicum - I suspect it just prefers a warmer summer. Or perhaps they are just hard to establish.
I'm afraid grasses don't always grow that fast. Panicum needs to be in quite free draining soil. Also, put some mulch at the base because roots can be easily rot. Most grasses can be slow especially if you buy very small pots. Calamagrostis is a little bit more forgiving in its needs. Can tolerate drier and damper soils, so longterm, if you have more heavier soil and even some shade, they tend to do better, but you need to still have patience.
Hmm where can I buy the patience? My soil is quite good, this border is possibly the poorest in the garden, stony anyway. South facing slope and dry, no shade. They went in with some compost and a mulch.