Flame Grass, Eulalia, Maiden Grass, Zebra Grass, Chinese Silvergrass 'Purpurascens'

I love the color of this grass at its peak. It really cheers up the sidewalk garden as summer ends. The white plumes are wonderful especi...Read Moreally in the breeze but gets washed out by our white fence in the background. I purchased two plants from Bluestone Perennials which were tiny pathetic looking little plants but I nurtured them and made sure they had plenty of water and now they are starting to really show off some colors. I've posted a photo of them taken in late October. They are growing in a thick round clump in amended clay soil. It gets very dry there in the height of summer but I supplement water especially the first two years. I'm not sure if it has to do with our soil but the color doesn't last. It's November 7th and it's turned a normal brown dried grass color now.

I like this grass. It is 4' tall and has taken YEARS to become well established. I have pure sand soil so that may have plenty to do with...Read More it. I started with 9 little sprigs of grass that I ordered in 2012. It has taken until 2015 to look decent. It never really becomes purple but the plumes it sent up are a sight to behold along with all of the structured things I have around it. Since I don't want to wait another 4 seasons to have more, I will cut this plant into quarters and move it around our property, keeping it in the lowest areas for the most water. Nice grass, I will look for more drought hardy ones in the future though.

This has to be one of the most disappointing plants in the garden or that ive ever owned.
i spent a couple of years growing it to ...Read Moremature size and have never seen any of the famed autumn colour, it just turns brown and starts doing it 6 weeks earlier (or more) than miscanthus sinensis cultivars. last year the plant went brown very quickly after only one frost night.

it also has very little interest for the rest of the growing season as the foliage is dull and densely packed, it just sits there all year doing nothing and it seems to need alot of water and be less drought tolerant compared to other MS grasses, (even in average uk summers) otherwise it wilts/leave curls. I have read that it can therefore take a more shaded/damp position so ive moved mine and will see how it does.

if you want autumn colour then you might be better off with miscanthus sioux, which i have and has turned a nice dark red now the day temp is about 10-15c, miscanthus ghana also looks good although i have never grown it, even maleparthus had decent colour, better than purpurascens.

ive often wondered if the colour only develops in america or its hotter and more settled native climates where the change from summer to autumn is perhaps more gradual than in the uk (zone 8).
i will probably be getting rid of mine as its just not worth the space when there are much better grasses that can take its place.

I like the rusty winter color and the smaller scale, but this variety brings up a problem that several Miscanthus varieties share. It wa...Read Morents to have water just as things turn kind of dry around here. They all make a slow start in the spring and then grow in June, July, and August filling in nicely as a lot of other stuff goes over. They can make good fall color if they continue to get plenty of water down into October. Of course, well established clumps develop serious roots so you may see better color on older clumps.