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Re/Miscanthus sinensis

Mariah:

I grow upwards of 100 species of ornamental grasses, sedges and rushes
and twice that many cultivars....I only know of one that has this type
of seed.

I suspect that the "grass" you received is likely not a grass, as such,
but a sedge- as soon as you described the seed heads as being large and
star shaped, I could only think of Carex grayi, also known as "Mace
Sedge" because the seed heads are like a spiked club--However, they
really are like wonderful three-dimensional stars, turning brown when
they mature. 

This is a native of E. North America, prefering (like most sedges) a
moist, or even wet situation.

Seed of this sedge requires a period of cold before it will
germinate.Your year-old seed is very likely still viable. The easiest
thing would be to sow it now, leave your pot outdoors over winter and
you will be surprised next Spring.

This would be a relatively short plant (compared to Miscanthus)- likely
2-3' at most in a good moist spot. Foliage is rather wide compared to a
Miscanthus as well.

It is an unusual plant to find where you found it!!! There is no
Miscanthus that has seed like you have on your plant.

The simplest way to know you don't have a Miscanthus sinensis is by the
size of your plant. Unless you had one of the smaller cultivars (some
2-3') most are 5' or taller. All have plume-like foliage- open and airy
and flower relatively late in the season (from Early Fall to right now).
The seed is relatively small. Being a warm season grass, they only
actively start growing in summer, coming into their own in the fall. We
have not even collected seed of our Miscanthus yet here in Z4. We will
wait until the current blizzard is finished & these 6-8" of snow melt
before venturing out again. Foliage of many colours beautifully,
particularly after the first frost.

It is unfortunate that many people get no further with grasses than
Miscanthus- There are hundreds of fabulous hardy, underused grasses- but
my experience is that they all get reduced to either "Pampas Grass" or
Miscanthus---Most of the time, they are neither.....

Kristl Walek
Gardens North
Z4, N. Gower, Ontario
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