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Ornamental millet is a fast-growing grass, spectacular in many ways. Its foliage, which resembles that of corn, ranges from lime green to deep purple depending on the variety and the chosen exposure. Millet can reach a height of five feet in a short time if the conditions are right. The stems iridescent in the sun are adorned with very decorative dark ears, which, if not cut, will be a delicacy for birds in winter.

The difficulty of planting ornamental millet

Easy.

When to plant ornamental millet?

Spring.

Preparing to plant ornamental millet

Choose a plant that has not yet flowered so that it can develop perfectly. A plant that already has spikes will not grow when planted. The same goes for the root system, which should not be too developed: avoid plants whose roots come out of the pot.

Ground preparation :

• Clean the ground of its weeds.
• Dig deep and add chippings or coarse sand to drain the soil.
• Add potting soil and compost in poor soil.

Exposure

Sun or partial shade

Ground

Fresh, acidic, fertile.

Distance between 2 ornamental millets plants

From 30 cm to 1 m depending on the variety.

How to plant ornamental millet?

Ornamental millet will take on more intense and deeper colors in full sun. Exposure to partial shade is also tolerated.
Choose a well-sheltered location because the Millet needs heat to grow: below 16 °, it stops growing.

• Gently deposit the plant.
• Dig a planting hole in the previously prepared soil, deep and wide enough to contain the entire root ball.
• Install the plant there.
• Fill vacant spaces with soil.
• The collar must be flush with the ground.
• Firm lightly around the foot.
• Spread out a bed of compost and make a bowl to retain the irrigation water.

After planting ornamental millet

• Water at the base of the plant, filling the bowl well.

Millet appreciates fresh soil, watering should be regular and constant throughout the cultivation period.

• Add nettle manure to fortify the plant every two weeks. Renew the layer of compost every month.

Ornamental millet is an annual plant that disappears naturally once its vegetative cycle has been completed.

Each year, just at the start of the vegetation, cut back the grasses more or less severely. Complete this operation with a good supply of fertilizer.

Cut back the small grasses about ten centimeters from the ground and the larger ones to about 20 cm. Use the shears vigorously to slice thick stems. Then peel the inside of the tuft with gloved fingers, as the leaves can be sharp. Remove dead or damaged twigs from winter moisture. Clear the waste on a pile before pruning the next grass.

Cut into a rounded shape

Prune your grasses by giving them a rounded shape, more aesthetic and natural than a square. When the cutting job is done, rake the surface of the bed and collect all the stems and leaves for composting. For faster decomposition, cut them into small pieces with the shears or a grinder . You can also use them as a mulch at the foot of shrubs.

Loosen and fertilize

Loosen the soil all around the tufts of grasses to a depth of 10 cm. Then fertilize by favoring an organic contribution (a chemical fertilizer boost would promote the growth of weeds). Count three to four handfuls of ripe compost per large grass and half for the small ones. Spread it around the periphery of each plant and iron the claw to bury it lightly in the soil.

Evergreen foliage to have a touch of greenery all year round in the garden.

With their decorative, varied, graphic foliage, the evergreen ferns enliven the garden, adorn the feet of shrubs, and serve as a setting for hellebores and early bulbs. Most prefer shade and partial shade, cool, moist soil. But some love the sun and grow in low walls, between two stones, where there is little earth. Magnificent when they bend under the frost, they stand up proudly, green and thick, at the slightest warmth.

Dryopteris erythrosora

Coppery, almost pink, the spring fronds of Dryopteris erythrosora take on a dark green hue in summer, to last until the end of winter. In March and April, when the young shoots burst, this 50 cm tall fern is spectacular. Install it in partial shade, in moist, cool soil, and combine it with blue flowering bulbs: blanda anemones, Siberian scilles, Spanish hyacinths …

Phyllitis scolopendrium

Very original, Phyllitis scolopendrium ‘Cristatum’ grows in long, entire fronds, with a crest on the edges and a notch at the end. This variety looks like a curly, wavy, light green, shiny salad. This fern measures 25 to 40 cm in height, likes shade and partial shade as well as cool soil. It will prove useful for planting in stony soils, even limestone, which it tolerates without worry.

Cyrtomium falcatum

With its erect, dark green, serrated fronds in broad elongated divisions, Cyrtomium falcatum stands at 60 cm and spreads over 1 m. This fern likes shade, cool, drained soils rich in humus, without limestone, but does not tolerate cold below – 10 ° C. It is also cultivated in pots, to be placed in a protected place.
Cut the leathery fronds: these leaves that look like broad blades work wonders in bouquets.

Strong and light, installed for very long years,  miscanthus remains decorative until the dead of winter. This “Chinese reed” has leaves marked with a very characteristic white central vein, which turns red in autumn. At the end of summer, the flowers in spikes peak at 1.20 and up to 3 m in height depending on the variety.

Technical sheet

Type of plant: grass (poaceae)
Exposure: sun
Soil: rich and fresh

Cultivation conditions

Miscanthus shows a preference for cool soils, even heavy ones. It needs heat and sun to flower. North of the Loire, choose early flowering varieties.

Maintenance and other care

Cut back the foliage to 15 cm from the ground in early spring, not before! Divide regularly in the spring.

Use

Use: isolated, bouquets

Species and varieties

• ‘Silberfeder’, 2.50 m, white flowers then golden, even without sun;
• ‘Goldefer’, 2 m, silvery flowers, foliage striped pale yellow;
• ‘Purpurascens’, 1.50 m, flowers pink, then silver;
• M. nepalensis, 1.20 m, golden, not very rustic.

Some bamboos will only be really comfortable in our interiors if they find a favorable environment. It is not always easy to keep them happy!

Some not very hardy bamboos are offered as indoor plants, it is mainly Bambusa ventricosa and Bambusa multiplex, as well as its varieties ‘Alphonse Karr’ and ‘Golden Goddess’.
Grown in pots, they measure 1 to 3 m in height. Let’s be frank, they cannot long withstand the conditions generally encountered in our interiors in winter, namely hot, dry air, as well as low light.

To keep them for several years, in an apartment or more easily on a veranda, they must benefit from strong light all year round. A complimentary supply with lighting adapted to the plants is possible, but not always very aesthetic, especially for large pots. The ambient air must be sufficiently humid, with at least 70% hygrometry. Since daily sprays are unlikely, an electric humidifier can raise the necessary rate. Also, place several bamboos side by side and place the pots on saucers containing clay balls. Always maintain 2 to 3 cm of water in order to humidify the air by evaporation.

Small, supple, and light grass, waving in the wind, it is often called “angel hair”. The stem forms dense tufts of evergreen leaves, thin as a hair, of pretty soft green in spring, taking on bronze reflections in autumn. Silvery inflorescences, with a frayed appearance (due to the hairs carried by the seeds, called ridges), emerge from the tuft.

Technical sheet

Type of plant: grass (poaceae)
Exposure: sun
Soil: dry and poor 

Cultivation conditions

The stipe likes open spaces, full sun and poor, light and always well-drained soils. Short-lived perennial, it reseeds itself.

Maintenance and other care

In spring, comb the old foliage by hand, and do not cut it back!

Use

Usage: Solid, border, stew, bouquets.

Species and varieties

• S. ‘Pony Tails’, 60 cm, white panicles, then fawn;
• S. barbata, 75 cm, long silvery ridges;
• S. pulcherrima, 60 cm, very long arabesque ridges;
• S. gigantea, 2 m, bluish green leaves, and loose, golden spikes.

Here are some varieties of ferns. Make your choice !

• One of the best known, asplenium . It has evergreen foliage and grows well in humus soil without excess humidity in winter.
• The variety ‘Cristatum’ has leaves that look like salad!
• Polystichum setiferum ‘Congestum’ has evergreen or semi-evergreen foliage. The fronds can freeze and disappear in the winter when it is too cold. Cut them at the end of winter so that they start again. Height: 40 to 70 cm.
• Dryopteris lepidopoda grows to 70 cm in height. The fronds that grow in spring turn from yellow to red before finally turning green.
• Dryopteris erythrosora has a beautiful salmon color on young foliage.
• Polystichum polyblepharum (or bear’s paw) rises to 80 cm in height and has very chiseled foliage.
• Athyrium niponicum ‘Ursula’s Red’ has deciduous, purple and silvery decorative foliage. Height: 40 cm.

Plant them:

• Choose a location in a grove under trees.
• Lift the earth with a claw.
• Bring chippings and compost to poor soils .
• Place the fern in the ground.
• Bring back the existing soil to fill the hole.
• Tamp lightly.
• Return the existing foam to the foot.

Ferns can also be planted in an old stump or a low wall. For that :

• Make a mixture of soil with a little compost.
• Incorporate it into the stump and plant the fern (here an ox tongue / asplenium).

Whether deciduous or persistent, ferns bring freshness to the garden as long as it is exposed to partial shade.

In a hedge in the garden or on a pot terrace, its black canes and fine foliage bring a touch of exoticism. Black bamboo ( Phyllostachys nigra ) is not very cautious and can therefore be grown in many regions.

Fast growing, this medium-sized bamboo ( Phyllostachys nigra ) reaches 6 to 8 m in height in our climates. Its fine, tight culms form a thick screen quite quickly. Olive green when it emerges from the ground, it gradually turns to shiny black. Its fine foliage, of a glossy dark green, very dense from the base to the top of the canes, persists in winter. Its rhizomes are not very invasive in heavy soils.

Technical sheet

Situation  : rustic down to -20 ° C. The wind dries up the foliage from -10 ° C.
Exposure  : sunny or slightly shaded and sheltered from strong winds.
Soil  : ordinary, rich in organic matter.
Family : Poacea.

Planting

In isolated tuft or in hedge, spacing the feet from 1.50 to 2 m, associated with other bamboos with colored canes. It supports cultivation in containers placed outside or in a veranda.

Maintenance

If it snows, shake off the heavy stubble . Wait until the end of summer or fall to install it in the ground , surrounding it with an anti-rhizome barrier. Straw the foot well to protect the roots from the cold. It multiplies by dividing its rhizomes at the end of winter. Bring water in dry weather in all seasons.

Variety

The variety ‘Boryana’ is even more astonishing than the others with its glaucous green culms speckled with brown like a panther skin. She is also much more vigorous.