Saturday, April 24, 2010

5 Nursery's and 2 months later, I found my Maiden grass.


Maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensus 'Gracillimus')

Maiden grass is one of the most popular ornamental grasses because of its narrow, graceful leaves that move gently in even the slightest of breezes in the garden. It is a warm-season, clump-forming grass whose parental species (M. sinensus) is native to Japan. Maiden grass has narrow leaves about 1/4 inch wide with a distinctive white midrib and forms a graceful, arching clump 48 to 60 inches tall. It bears 12- to 15-inch copper-colored panicles that are held 12 to 15 inches above its foliage in late September. The panicles dry to a silvery-white color and "fluffy" texture at maturity and add interest to the plant well into the winter. Maiden grass prefers a full-sun exposure in a moist, fertile garden loam. It needs to be divided every third or fourth year to keep the center of the clump from dying. Numbers of other named cultivars have been selected from M. sinensus, but 'Gracillimus' remains the most commercially available and widely planted.