Golden Hakone Grass By Yvonne Cinnington

Golden Hakone Grass (Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola')2009 Perennial Plant of the Year

One of my favorite plants, Golden Hakone Grass (Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola') is the 2009 Perennial Plant of the Year.
In my garden I team this ornamental grass with gold-tinged 'Golden Tiara' hosta and purple-leaved oxalis, a non-hardy summer bulb plant.
This grouping at my side entry garden (shown below) looks lovely all season long.

This species of grass is native to Japan's main Island, Honshu, and gets its name from the region near Mt. Hakone. Chloa is the Greek word for grass.
How to growGolden Hakone Grass
Hardiness: USDA zones 5-9.
Size and growth habit: This grass grows 12 to 18 inches tall and 18 to 24 inches wide, and its leaves fall attractively in one direction.
The bright yellow foliage is 1/2" wide with thin green stripes, and in the fall becomes tinged pink and red.
Golden hakone grass spreads by rhizomes and stolons, but grows so slowly that it does not becomes a rampant spreader. Slow growth means that you don't need to divide it for many years.
However, if you wish to divide to obtain more plants, as with other ornamental grasses, the best time to do this is in early spring just as new growth starts.
Light and soil conditions: This ornamental grass grows well in partial shade, especially in hot climates, but it can take more sun in cooler areas. Plant in moist, humus-rich, well-drained soil.
The Perennial Plant Association recommends not planting it in poorly drained soil, heavy clay or excessively dry and sandy soils. However, I've had several readers tell me they have it in moist clay areas, where it grows well.
In its native habitat, the growing conditions are wet, rocky cliffs, so this plant appears to be quite adaptable.
How the 2009 Perennial Plant of the Year was chosen
Each year the Perennial Plant Association selects a plant of the year.
The chosen perennial must be:
-Suitable for a wide range of climates
-Easy to grow (low maintenance care)
-Easy for growers to propagate (comes true from seed or vegetative propagation
-Attractive throughout the gardening season.
Golden Hakone Grass is the second ornamental grass to be chosen as a Perennial Plant of the Year. Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster', feather reed grass, was chosen in 2001.
Maintenance: Golden Hakone grass is a shade tolerant grass and has few insect or disease problems. Even deer tend to leave it alone.
The only maintenance required is to cut the previous season's dead leaves back in fall, late winter or early spring.
This grass has shallow roots, and therefore is best divided in spring, like most grasses. If divided in fall, the divisions are prone to cold weather damage and frost heaving.
Garden uses: This perennial grass makes a great companion for hostas, especially hostas with gold variegation, or bluish leaves.
Other good matches with perennials include foam flower (Tiarella cultivars) and Heucheras, especially those with purple leaves, and purple leaved bugbane cultivars (Actaea, also known as Cimicifuga), such as 'Hillside Black Beauty' and 'Brunette'.
Golden Hakone Grass also looks great with astilbe, epimedium, wild ginger, bleeding heart and lady's mantle.
I've also grown it as a container plant and love the way it cascades over one side like a waterfall. My favorite way to use it in my garden beds is as an edger where its foliage can cascade onto a path.

http://www.flower-gardening-made-easy.com/index.html

Outdoor Planting Table from Old Farmers Almanac

Outdoor Planting Table for 2009


The best time to plant flowers and vegetables that bear crops above ground is during the light of the Moon; that is, from the day the Moon is new to the day it is full. Flowering bulbs and vegetables that bear crops below ground should be planted during the dark of the Moon; that is, from the day after it is full to the day before it is new again. The Moon Favorable column below gives these days, which are based on the Moon's phases for 2009 and the safe periods for planting in areas that receive frost. See the Moon Phase Calendar for the exact days of the new and full Moons.


To find the best time to plant for your area check out this link;
http://www.almanac.com/garden/plantingtable/index.php

The Old Farmers Almanac is a great source for gardening information, and it's fun.

Keep the planting table handy while you design this years garden with Landscape Vision an Easy to Use Landscape Design Software
www.landscapeyourvisions.com