Q. I’m back living at the family home and my Dad had planted some tall grass in front of house, in front of the evergreen bushes next to area sump pump drains out. It gets really tall and is ugly. What can I do to get rid of and what can I put in its place? It also attracts a weed, which grows with it. It’s put in like a border beside the walk to the front door. So it’s all together not spread out. Rest of front is lawn (or a lot of clover) as it wasn’t taken care of. I can live with the lawn for now but this tall grass looks very out of place and I’m afraid to just pull it up w/out replacing w some nice plantings.
Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts
A. It sounds like your Dad had good intentions, but this is a case of wrong plant, right place. It’s a little difficult to assess your landscape problem without a picture. Let’s start with the conditions. The sump pump drain probably means the area stays damp. It’s unlikely that the grasses attract a particular weed, but rather, the weed thrives under the prevailing conditions. If you have a more suitable location for the tall grass you might try to transplant it. You don’t necessarily need the whole root ball, but can cut it apart into segments and plant the pieces. In any case, if the grasses are well established it’s going to be tough work. If you choose to transplant the grass, water it every other day for two to three weeks and it should survive on its own (unless you have a prolonged dry period).
Now, what to put in its place is the tough question without seeing the site. I assume you want something to grow lower than the evergreens and not hide them as I supposed the grass did? You might consider moisture tolerant, flowering indigenous plants such as: Sweet Pepper bush (Clethera) or Meadow Sweet (Spirea latifolia), which grows to about 4 feet. There are native perennials that attract birds and bees and are adapted to wet sites also: Cardinal Flower and Bee Balm (careful it spreads aggressively).
Hope these ideas help. You might also seek advice from a full service independent garden center.I’d suggest you bring them a picture. I know there are some great ones in your area of Massachusetts. They can also address your clover problem, which is pretty easy to control.
Drew Effron
Ball Horticultural Company
deffron@ballhort.com
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