Rod millet is an ornamental perennial grass that has very beautiful inflorescences. In Russia they heard about him in the 90s of the last century. There was little information about him then, they only said that this is a promising decorative grass for the middle strip, which is represented on the European market by many interesting varieties. It is about her that will be discussed in this article.
Varieties of millet rod-shaped
Rod millet Cloud Nine is a plant with beige panicles. It blooms from September to October. The plant reaches a height of 190-210 cm, holds its shape well, does not fall apart. The shape of the bush is funnel-shaped. The foliage is bluish-green in color, turns yellow in the fall, looks very impressive.
Dallas Blues is a plant with greenish-beige panicles. It blooms from September to October, is considered the latest variety. The height of the plant is 160-200 cm. The shape of the bush is vase-like, the leaves are wide, bluish-green, turn yellow in late autumn.
Heavy Metal Millet. This plant has beige panicles with a reddish tinge. The bush is erect, with bluish-green foliage, in the fall the color becomes copper-red.
Heiliger Hein. His panicles are grayish-green with a red tint. Flowering from August to October, is considered a late variety. It keeps its shape well. The height of the bush is 110-130 cm. The leaves are bluish-green in color with copper-red tips, in the fall they turn copper-red.
Northwind. Panicles are grayish-green in color, flowering time is from September to October. The height of the bush is 160-180 cm, does not fall apart. Leaves are bluish-green, turn yellow in early autumn.
Prairie Skye. Panicles of beige color with a silver tint. Flowering time - August-October. It blooms decoratively. The bush is 140-160 cm tall, is erect, can fall apart. The leaves are broad, bluish-green, in the fall acquires slight yellow hues.
Rothstralbush is a plant with reddish-beige panicles. It blooms from August to October. The bush keeps its shape well. The foliage is green. Autumn color appears early enough. The top of the leaves is fiery red and the bottom is yellow. The height of the bush is 110-130 cm.
Shenando is a plant with red-violet panicles. Height - 110-120 cm. The bush keeps its shape perfectly, is wide, upright, moderate growth. The leaves are grayish-green in early autumn become saturated red.
Squaw is a plant with red-violet panicles and green foliage. Bush 150-170 cm high, vase-like. Flowering - August-October. The leaves are green, in the fall they turn rusty red.
Stefa is a plant with beige panicles. Flowering from July to September. It blooms decoratively, abundantly. The height of the bush is 150-170 cm. The foliage is dull green.
Strictum. Panicles are greenish-beige. It blooms from August to September decoratively. The foliage is bright green. The bush is erect, 160-180 cm high.
There are a lot of varieties of rod-like millet, below we will consider the most popular.
Rothstrahlbusch
Rod-shaped millet Rotstralbusch combines cereal culture and ornamental plants and is great for landscape design: framing lawns and gazebos, creating shadows over the pond and to complete the composition of the alpine hill.
A culture with maroon graceful leaves and a high stem (up to 120 cm). The adult bush is widely growing with light openwork inflorescences.
Gardeners really like the delicate mauve panicles, similar to fabulous flowers.
Rehbraun
Rehbraun rod millet is a fairly popular variety. He appeared in the 1950s. The leaves of this variety are green, in the fall they turn red-brown. Because of this color, it is also called copper millet.
Rehbraun blooms from August to September, panicles of fiery red flowers.
Designers are very fond of this variety, not only because of its appearance, but also because the plant perfectly adapts to the growing conditions, durable, easy to care for. Therefore, even beginner gardeners can grow it.
Heavy metal
Millet rod-shaped Heavy Metal does not at all look like a relative of a modest cereal crop because of its amazing beauty. With it, you can create stunning landscape design without investing huge amounts of money in it. Heavy Metal is a universal plant for various design. With the help of it, lawns are framed, low hedges are made, they are independently grown in flower beds, in tubs, they complement the collage of an alpine hill. This millet is great for multilevel compositions and for delimiting recreation areas.
The stem and thin leaves of a light blue hue in the fall become golden. A distinctive feature of Heavy Metal millet is its very strong stems, which do not change their directness and shape even with severe weather. This spectacle is incredibly spectacular.
The variety became so popular because of the affordable price, fast vegetation, resistance to the vagaries of the weather and unpretentiousness in care.
Dallas blues
Millet rod-shaped Dallas Blues with a short-rooting diverging turf is also a fairly popular variety. The bush of this variety is narrow, slightly falling apart, loose. The plants in it are of different heights, from 120 to 240 cm. The leaves are narrow linear green. Panicles of inflorescences are usually pink or red. Flowering time - August-September.
The bush begins to grow in late spring or even at the beginning of summer, then it develops rapidly and stands until winter.
The plant likes sunny as well as warm places, unpretentious to the soil. Great variety for fresh and dry bouquets. For a dry bouquet, the plant needs to be cut at the beginning of flowering, not allowing the top panicle to crumble.
Thus, we examined the main types of rod millet and photos of these varieties.
Caring for millet
Rod millet is a short-rhizome cereal with a very powerful root system, penetrating three or more meters in depth.
The bush grows quite dense, tall. Different varieties require different soils: light sandy, and heavy clay, and dry, and moderately moist. The acidity of the soil for millet is not very important.
It is important to clearly understand: to get beautiful bushes, brightly colored leaves and panicles, it is better to plant millet on poor, moderately dry soils.
Fertile moist soils are perfect for growth and rapid reproduction of rod millet, but the color will not be so intense and spectacular. That is why the plant does not require frequent and intensive feeding. It is enough to feed one or two times a season with mineral or organic fertilizer.
Planting rod-shaped millet
The place for planting is chosen sunny, the reddening foliage in some varieties here will look much better. In the shade, the leaves may remain green.
But varieties with blue foliage can be planted in a darkened place, and in partial shade they will look very decorative.
Millet grows quite late - usually by the end of May. Initially, all varieties of leaves are green, and only in July, when panicles appear, the plant is gradually painted in its characteristic color.
At the end of the season, the plants are very bright and elegant. Serious frosts damage them, but they still stand no less attractive until the snow, and even in winter neat panicles look beautiful.
Breeding
Rod millet propagates vegetatively: every three years in the spring, an overgrown bush can be divided.
At the same time, it needs to be dug out of the soil, divided with a shovel or a sharp knife into several pieces and put back. Too small delenki do not need to be left, of which the bushes are small and rare.
Garden application
Rod-like millet is used as an ornamental plant. They can decorate the shores of artificial reservoirs. The bushes on the lawn look original: in the corners, in the center, next to the track, etc. There is where the designer’s fantasies can take a walk.
Bushes of rod-like millet can be planted in large flowerpots, decorating them with courtyards and other places of rest. For the winter, the flowerpot can be moved to the basement or dug into the ground.