Southern Gardening

I like big grasses and it ain’t no lie. Ornamental grasses are often unassuming in the landscape waiting for their turn in the spotlight. Let’s take a look at some of my fall favorites. One of my all-time favorites is pampas grass, though I may have a love hate relationship with this perennial grass. I love the six to seven foot tall plants and then the flower stalks shoot up and can be up to ten feet tall. The flat grass blades have a rough surface, think sand paper, and have very sharp edges. This is the hate part of the equation especially when it comes to spring pruning.

Here on Southern Gardening, we talk a LOT about ornamental plants in our gardens and landscape. We hardly ever mention the most prolific plant on most properties…the lawn itself. Today on Southern Gardening, I'm talking with Dr. Jay McCurdy, the MSU Extension Turf grass specialist. Jay, fall is an important time of the year for lawn care. What are some of the lawn care activities we need to accomplish each fall? Jay: A common question I get is what type of fertilizer to use, as well as when to apply it. Typically, we want to apply less nitrogen and more potassium in the fall.