I would like to plant a living maze this spring but don't know what to use that would give me a high and thick stand. I would like something at least 5 feet tall. Corn is what I've seen used most, but I just don't have the room for a maize maze. Is there a grass that would be high enough and could be planted close enough together to make a thick enough wall so that the paths could be spaced fairly close together? Thanks in advance.

-- Jarrett Kelly (kellyhouse@yahoo.com), November 22, 2001

Answers

A friend of ours used sorgum, but I suppose that would be like corn. It is a bit sturdier, though.

-- Jo (mamamia2kids@msn.com), November 22, 2001.

Did you want corn so you could eat it?

Usually mazes are planted with I think boxwood and other evergreens. Any good book on English gardens should have a section on mazes and what to use. Try Amazon.com and your local nursery or library.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), November 22, 2001.

What about putting up stakes or fence posts, stringing wire or twine or something (depending on how long you want this to last), then training vining plants up onto it -- such as scarlet runner beans or morning glories? Or perhaps espalier your tomatoes along the wire or twine?

-- Joy F [in So. Wisconsin] (CatFlunky@excite.com), November 22, 2001.

All of these are good ideas, but unfortunately, not exactly what I am looking for.

I was thinking more along the lines of maybe a grass of some kind. Boxwood hedges are too permanent - I was thinking more a one season thing. Plant in spring, have the maze, and then cut down again.

How high does alfalfa grow? Is there a grass that grows high enough? etc. Thanks again in advance.

-- Jarrett Kelly (kellyhouse@yahoo.com), November 22, 2001.

Try sudan grass. It grows fast and tall, about 5-6'

-- bruce (rural@inebraska.com), November 22, 2001.

Why do you want a maze? Is it so people can go through it and you charge them? I was just wondering because one time i seen in the paper that a farmer did that with corn and would charge people to go through it. Is that a way for you to make money?

-- teejae (zachdawg@webtv.net), November 22, 2001.

Jarett, this isn't the anwer you're looking for, but it might give you or other readers some ideas.

I used to have a several-acre meadow that I kept wild. Each autummn I would aggressively mow it, especially at its margins, in order to keep it from becoming wooded. Other than that, and planting commercially-available wildflowers in it, I let it be.

Except: I kept careful note of where the perennial wildflowers were, and each spring mowed a maze-like path through the meadow. It varied each year, but by autumn, when the milkweed and joe-pye weed were at their tallest, it was always a treat both for me and for visitors to wander through it.

Now, this isn't a maze in the sense of being a puzzle to get out of, because all but the youngest children could see their way over the vegetation. But it was a joy to maintain and to walk through. I highly recommend it to anyone who has a patch of wild meadow.

-- Audie (paxtours@alaska.net), November 23, 2001.

Around here, they had one that was quite popular made of what looked like black oil sunflowers about 7 feet tall. I imagine they were good stock feed too, after the maze was mown down.

-- Laura Rae Jensen (lrjensen@nwlink.com), November 23, 2001.

Johnsongrass will grow higher than 6'. Once planted, it will come back each year.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), November 23, 2001.

Jarrett, I have an HGTV show on tape of a couple who used tall perenniel grasses for a maze. I went to the website for HGTV but they didn't give any specifics for that particular episode. I'll try to find the time to view it again and I'll see if they mention any specific varieties. It was very nice looking and worked although I think it to a few years for the plants to mature.

-- Bren (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), November 23, 2001.

Hea Ken, they would shoot you here in Indiana if you planted Jhonson. As a mater of fact it is on the law books that it is just as illeagle to grow jhonson as it is to grow Pot, just because of its invasive nature

-- grant (organicgrange@yahoo.com), November 23, 2001.

Some of the native prairie grass can grow quite tall. This URL may be of interest to you: http://www.prairiefrontier.com/pages/prairegrs.htm

-- Joy F [in So. Wisconsin] (CatFlunky@excite.com), November 23, 2001.

Fast growing but very invasive, how about bamboo--depending on where you are

also, Pampas Grass might work (you can trim the grass at the bottom if you want). But almost anything that would be thick enough to be unable to see through, is going to take longer than a year to grow

-- MissJudi (jselig@clemson.edu), November 23, 2001.

Pampas Grass can give nasty paper cuts, and other tough grasses might pose the same problem. Just something to think about.

-- GT (nospam@nsospm.com), November 23, 2001.