Miscanthus Zebrinus

The clumping grass Miscanthus zebrinus has beautiful horizontal stripes - lemon on green. It's a big but well behaved customer, and the winter silvery seedheads are fine and intricate.

 A foliage feature all year round.
Miscanthus Zebrinus - Zebra Grass

Plain Green New Growth

My gardening friend Astrid watches her Miscanthus Zebrinus more closely than I do mine. She thinks that its new growth is plain green. Then just as she starts to make plans for its removal the wide lemon stripes appear.

 The seed heads last from late autumn right through winter.
Miscanthus Seed Heads

I grow two clumps of Miscanthus zebrinus, or Zebra grass, in my garden, and they both give winter joy with their slivery seed-head silhouettes. Neither has overgrown its allocated space yet, but these are definitely big grasses. And occasionally the wind and rain will knock them into an ungainly sideways spread.