Many of us in the NC/SC/GA/TN area are in recovery mode from the devastating damage caused by Hurricane Helene. As I write this, Hurricane Milton is getting closer to Florida. In the past, I have written about the Lake Lure Flowering Bridge in Lake Lure, NC. The photos of Lake Lure and neighboring Chimney Rock show heartbreaking damage There will be a long, long recovery.
I’m sure that you have all seen photos of the storm damage, so I won’t belabor the point, but I wanted to share one photo of a house three miles from us that was literally split in half by a toppled tree.
A massive oak tree split my neighbor’s house in half.
My house and barns were undamaged but my woodlands lost many large trees. Just two days after the storm, I sat on my front deck and marveled at the resiliency of nature. Butterflies and hummingbirds worked tirelessly, instinctively aware that cool weather is in the near future. Nearby, pileated woodpeckers complained loudly that their home trees were felled, but then they got busy chiseling new holes. It sounded like a construction crew hammering. A few perennials were unfazed by the thirteen-plus inches of rain that fell. Though many have long passed their peak beauty, Lantana and Cuphea look as good now as they did four weeks ago. So does my white Muhly grass, the focus of today’s blog.
Last year, I installed groupings of Muhlenbergia ‘White Cloud’ and Mexican Salvia. My plan was to highlight the purple and white flowers of the salvia by providing them with an airy white background. Many salvia stems were broken in the recent storm and a few plants were even blown from the ground, but the white Muhly grass looks great.
While many gardeners grow pink Muhly, the white form Muhlenbergia capillaris 'White Cloud' has some advantages over its warmer-toned sister. The white type has a more upright form than the pink. It blooms about two weeks later, so it is a perfect companion to fall-flowering salvia, asters, tall sedums, and chrysanthemums.
White Muhly is cold-hardy in zones 6-9. It will tolerate almost any well-drained soil as long as it is given full sun. To avoid problems, site plants in areas with good air circulation and avoid over fertilization. Spent seed heads look attractive well into winter. Give them a shallow cutback in late winter or early spring, being careful to avoid crown damage.
According to Hoffman Wholesale Nursery, “Muhlenbergia was named after one of the first early-American scientists, Lutheran minister and self-taught botanist, Gotthilf Henry Ernest Muhlenberg (1753-1815). He became interested in botany while hiding from British soldiers during the Revolutionary war.”
Plants grow to three feet tall and three feet wide. They look best when planted as groups rather than as singles. are deer and rabbit resistant. They are native to central and southern US.
This mass planting of Muhlenbergia appears to advantage at the top of a retaining wall.
