Miscanthus sinesis:

ornamental grass

One of my all-time

favorite garden plants.

To discuss nice plants like this, visit our Turf to Trees Forum: Turf to Trees.

Here are a few photos of one of my favorite ornamental grasses for gardens and landscaping: Miscanthus sinensis. There are some varieties of Miscanthus available, but this regular species plant is exceptional too.

This is an ornamental grass that I have kept in my own garden, and used countless times for other people. It has been reliable and durable.

This ornamental grass, Miscanthus sinensis, will probably need to be cut down to 3" to 6" tall stubs in the winter. It will depend on your region.

Don't compare this to pampas grass. Pampas grass leaves can flop over other plants and drag on the ground; it has very large stems that are hard to cut through in the cold season.

Miscanthus sinensis on the other hand, is not unruly like Pampas; having smaller stems. Power hedge shears crop-off the old foliage in moments, or hand pruners can be used also.

The images above show the seasonal changes and color of Miscanthus sinensis. In spring, it grows new stems / leaves. About October, the seed heads appear as mauve. A golden winter color develops in November to December. By January or February, you may decide to cut the plant back.

At least in most of western Oregon and western Washington, the plants don't present a germination and weed seedling problem.

These are easy to divide. For example, a 2' wide clump can be divided in half or into quarters. One section can be lifted out and soil replaced, or an entire plant can be quartered.

After the plant reaches about 1' in diameter, it may be better to divide it with an ax, slicing down the middle. It's a bit firm for a shovel, and may hurt feet and ankles. But an axe will slice right through. The shovel - sharpened - works fine around the perimeter.

The small trees in one image are Tsuga mertensiana: mountain hemlock - naturally growing on many mountains of Oregon, Washington in the upper elevations. Other western states have these trees too.