EXPERT advice GRASSES FOR AUTUMN INTEREST

Which grasses are best for autumn displays? My favourites include the tall Miscanthus sinensis ‘Malepartus’ with its deep-purple flowers that fade to silver against the yellow-tinted autumnal foliage. Another tall beauty is Molinia ‘Windsaule’. The stems and seedheads of this moor grass turn butter yellow in autumn. Or, for a smaller plant, try Pennisetum

‘Dark Desire’, which has large, fluffy, cylindrical dark flowers that are simply irresistible.

What plants would you combine them with? These grasses work well with a wide variety of shrubs, such as Rosa glauca, and perennial flowers with autumn interest. The perennials I particularly like to grow them with include persicaria, eupatorium, sanguisorba and asters.

How do you maintain these grasses and sedges? Maintaining deciduous grasses could not be easier. Simply cut the old stems down to the ground at the end of winter – March is a good time – then stand back and watch them regrow to their full height in early summer. It’s an amazing cycle that I never tire of watching. NEIL LUCAS, owner of grass specialist nursery Knoll Gardens, knollgardens.co.uk.