PlantFiles: Eulalia, Maiden Grass, Zebra Grass, Chinese Silvergrass
Miscanthus sinensis

This plant is not 100% evergreen in my zone 10 (Sunset 24), but it is lovely and showy and worth the effort. It also needs room. I tried to squeeze several in a two-foot deep bed next to a walkway and the flowers were always slapping people as they walked by. I moved them to spots where they could grow unrestricted: the grass grows to just under 4' x 4' and the flowers can reach up to about 5'. The flowers are pinkish until they start to turn tawny in the fall, and the flowers will hang on easily until November. I usually cut them back to about a 2' x 2' mound once the flowers and the plants themselves start to look a little ratty. This grass does seem to need a little more water to look its best in sunnier spots than it does in shadier spots. You won't be disappointed by this grass...if you can find it. Unlike a previous poster mentioned, I don't have a problem with it bothering my skin.

Hope I don't get any backlash from this comment, but im about to bash the entire miscanthus family. Aside from being an introduced, invasive species from china, it seems miscanthus is not the only thing that traveled over here from china. Miscanthus mealy bug (Miscanthicoccus miscanthi) has not only effected me at home, in my own garden, but also at work, where I tend to many acres of botanical gardens, and guess what everyone's favorite ornamental grass to plant is??? any ideas? I am at whits end with this grass.... I hate miscanthus!!! I hate it HATE IT HATE IT!!!!!!!!!!! my suggestion is to rip them all out of the ground, burn them, and forget about them, forget they ever existed. this pest is nearly impossible to get rid of, it hides very well from spraying, and has very limited success with a systemic insecticide, and is completely hardy to even the coldest Ohio winter. Just about the best thing about this pest is that it is genus specific, and will only target miscanthus. Another suggestion, lets all start loving our native plants. There are so many beautiful american native cultivars of grasses, big blue stem, little blue stem, switch grasses (pennisetum is another introduced invasive species) Im glad miscanthus is dying out, I've grown tired of staring at the same old stupid grasses. anyone with me??? lets start a revolution!!!

Grows very well here in my zone 6 garden. Other than trimming it back in early spring, this plant has never required any other care. I planted 4 of them, one in each corner, of my tropical themed garden. It adds a very exotic touch and the butterflies and dragonflies love to land on the tall clumps of grass. For me, they tend to grow to be about 6 feet tall each season.

An outstanding Miscanthus sinensis cultivar here on the south shore of Lake Superior is 'Little Zebra'. It does very well for us and isn't at all weedy. Because it's relatively short (four feet), it has time to bloom even in our short, cool growing season. This isn't true of some of the larger ones. Recommended.

WARNING!!!! While this plant stays green almost year round and grows well in San Diego, YOU MUST WEAR LONG SLEEVES, LONG PANTS AND GLOVES WHEN PRUNING!!!!! This pant will give you a rash and cuts that will spread and aggravate you for days. Trust me....save your self the inconvenience. Also plant away from walk ways. Just brushing the plant will provide the same results. You've been warned.

Love love love this med sized grass, looks good all year, normally we cut it back about Nov but we left it uncut last year...Made for a great backdrop for photos during our snow in 2010/11

I think I'm going to be very pleased with the stand-alone specimen of Maiden Grass "gracillimus" that I added to my perennial bed last summer. I wasn't expecting it to bloom since it hadn't even been planted an entire season, but was pleasantly surprised with beautiful plumes in the fall that added a good amount of interest to my garden through the winter.

Eulalia, Japanese Silver Grass, Maiden Grass, Zebra Grass Miscanthus sinensisis naturalized in Texas and other States and is considered an invasive plant in Texas.

I love Miscanthus. It grows well in an area I can't get other things to grow, and looks beautiful.

While these plants can be 'invasive', if taken care of (including tending to the seedheads in the falls) they can provide great joy and a beautiful background for other plants in a sunny yard. I have had four miscanthus that have spent two years in my relatively new garden and while they tried to explode onto the scene, keeping them in has made them a part of my gardening joy.

This plant is highly invasive. I have seen it take over hay fields, roadsides and just about everywhere else. In my opinion it should be avoided at least in Zones 6 and 7, where it appears to be most destructive to native vegetation.

In the warmer zones 8 and 9 the foliage is evergreen, and deciduous in the cooler zones.

M. sinensis is one of about twenty species of the genus Miscanthus. The reed-like stems bear narrow lance-shaped arching leaves. Panicles of silky spikes present in late summer and autumn. Miscanthus may be grown as a stand-alone specimen, in mixed borders, or at water-side.

Best grown in moderately fertile, moist and well-drained soil in full sun. Hard prune in later winter or very early spring.

Sow seed in containers in a cold frame in early spring. Or, divide as new growth starts in early spring.

This plant is rarely bothered by pests and diseases.