Miscanthus sinensisChinese Silver Grass

Miscanthus sinensis, the Chinese Silver Grass, is the structural grass that most others are measured against. Narrow arching leaves with a pale midrib build an upright clump through summer, then silvery to pink-bronze plumes rise above it in late summer and stand, bleaching to straw, right through winter.

It is planted in drifts for movement and texture, as a seasonal screen and in detention basins and roadside beds where a tall grass is wanted for very little maintenance.

Specifications

• Height1.2 to 2 metres in leaf, and to 2.5 metres in flower
• Width1 to 1.5 metres
• Native toEast Asia, in China, Japan and Korea
• FoliageNarrow, arching green leaves with a pale midrib, turning bronze and straw-gold in autumn; deciduous
• Growth rateFast

Conditions

• SoilTolerates most soils; prefers moist, well-drained ground
• LightFull sun
• WaterModerate; tolerates dry periods once established
• ClimateThrives in temperate to subtropical regions and is fully frost-hardy

Additional Features

• FlowersSilvery to pink-bronze feathery plumes from late summer, persisting through winter
• FormUpright arching clump that holds its shape without staking
• UsesIdeal for mass planting, seasonal screening, mixed borders, detention basins and roadside beds
• SpacingPlant 0.8 to 1.2 metres apart for a continuous drift
• Low MaintenanceCut the whole clump to the ground in late winter; nothing else is required
• Pest ResistanceGenerally pest-free and reliable
• Seasonal AppealSummer movement, autumn colour and a winter skeleton from a single plant

Chinese Silver Grass carries a planting from midsummer through to late winter on one annual cut, which is as efficient as landscape planting gets.