Miscanthus sinensis seed
LATIN NAME: Miscanthus sinensis
COMMON NAME: Chinese Silver Grass
Chinese silver grass is the tall, arching, feathery grass of the late season, and it has been carried to the gardens of the temperate world for its fine, silvery plumes. The tall clumps of the narrow, green or variegated leaves send up long stems tipped with soft, silky, silvery-pink panicles that catch the light through the autumn and the winter. It moves gracefully in the wind and gives the border a fine, airy structure. It is a bold, easy grass of the sunny, open ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
Chinese silver grass has a strong presence in the plant science, and it has been studied seriously as a bioenergy and a fibre crop. Its fast growth, its high yield of dry matter and its value in the production of the paper and the fuel have all been looked into, and the plant keeps appearing in the renewable-energy journals. The ornamental breeding has also produced the many colourful and variegated forms, and the plant shows up in the work on the landscape grasses. In some regions the researchers have also studied its spread in the wild, so the science here is broad and well documented.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Chinese silver grass is grown for the looks and for the practical value. In the garden the tall, arching clumps and the silvery plumes make a fine, dramatic statement, and the seed heads stand through the winter. It has been studied and planted as a source of the biomass for the clean energy and as a raw material for the paper, and the strong stems have a traditional use in the thatching and the weaving. In the right, well-managed spot it is a generous, easy plant, though it is best given room to spread. It has been written about in the horticultural and the renewable-energy papers.
Chinese silver grass is native to the open ground and the watersides of the eastern Asia, and it has been carried around the temperate world as one of the great ornamental grasses. The many named varieties cover the range from the tall, arching clumps to the neat, compact forms, and the leaves come in the green, the banded and the variegated patterns. The silvery-pink plumes catch the light through the autumn and stand well into the winter, and the clumps make a fine, dramatic statement in the border and the waterside planting. In some regions the plant is also grown as a fast, renewable source of the biomass.
Chinese silver grass is not hard from seed. The finest seeds want the light, so scatter them over the surface of pots of moist, free-draining soil and press them in gently without covering them, keep the pots in a bright, warm, open spot and water them lightly. Keep the pots in a bright, warm, open spot and water them gently. The seedlings are up before long and grow on into strong young clumps over the first season. Set them out in a sunny spot with room to spread, and they will be sending up their plumes by the second autumn.
It is a great plant for adding to prairie type plantings, wildflower meadows, cottage gardens, borders, rockeries etc. It does well on various soil types and moisture levels, preferring well drained sites in full sun. It can be situated at the middle to back of the border and grows 1 – 2m high and 0.5 – 1m across. It is a perennial deciduous clump forming rhizomatous grass with mid-green leaves that have transverse cream – yellowish bands and grow 18 – 75 cm tall and 0.3–2 cm across. The flowers occur in autumn, are purplish in colour and are held above the foliage turning white as the seeds mature in winter.