"animaux" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 23 Oct 2003 18:49:54 -0400, "Natty_Dread"
opined:

Of all those, it looks the most like Miscanthus sinensis, in particular
one
cultivar I saw called Silverfeather. I found a lot of references on the
Web
for identifying and buying these grasses, but nothing so far about
growing
and caring for them. Do you have any sites you can recommend?

Thanks!
Rhonda

Okay, Miscanthus is a clumping grass. The base can range in size two
feet, to 5
feet in diameter. The upper spray of foliage much larger. My advice is
to
leave them in place over winter. Do not cut anything off and just enjoy
the
winter interest of the pale, tan grass plumes. In early spring you will
notice
signs of life emerging. At that time, you can cut the whole plant to
about a
foot tall. Take a good, strong garden fork and pry the whole plant up.
With a
very sharp knife, cut out sections and pot them into containers or plant
them
elsewhere, but in a small area, you may not be able to have two plants of
this
size. You can give some away, or put them on the compost pile. Either
way, you
can do this work in the spring.

Another tip on growing ornamental grass is to do what called "combing" the
center. Every few years I have to go in and comb out the center of my
ornamental grasses. In the center there may be some rotting stems or the
stems
may be so bunched together it can prevent any new foliage emerging. I
especially do this on plants known as sedge, but are also referred to as
grasses. Cutting those to the ground is almost like killing the plant!
They
should ONLY be combed and not cut back.

Anyway, I may be confusing you.

Check here for info.

http://www.suite101.com/articles.cfm/ornamental

When you search, enter "ornamental grass cultivation"and you will find a
lot of
information.

Victoria

Thanks! I appreciate the info. :-)