Best time to move large grasses in Zone 5

I have absolutely no gardening knowledge when it comes to grasses. I bought a house last fall that has several big clumps of a tall grass that were planted to screen pool equipment from view. I don't know what type of grass it is and I don't have a good picture. It is about 7 feet tall and green with thin blades. I have never seen any flowering. It is also sharp. It doesn't look like it but if you run your hand along it the wrong way it will give you little slices like paper cuts. I need to thin it out a lot and remove some of the clumps completely because it is overwhelming some of my other plants. I just don't know if it would be best (as in easiest) to do it during fall clean-up or wait till spring. Any advice would be really great. And I can get a picture tomorrow and post it if IDing it is needed to decide about moving it. Thanks!!

Greetings. Sounds like you might have miscanthus, and if so it may bloom in October. If it's very sharp it may be Morning Light, which is gorgeous next to water. In terms of dividing and cutting back, it is best to wait until spring. Grasses are weakest in the fall and if you divide them they might not make it through the winter, especially if they do in fact bloom. Late March is a good time to cut them way back, and then divide or remove them.

Does it look like this?

Morning Light took at least three years to bloom for me, and then it did it consistently. When it blooms it looks like this. And yes, it can be sharp. I trim its blades to keep it from slicing my lilies.

Donna

I am pretty sure you are right about it being a miscanthus. Not sure of the variety and I keep forgetting to take a picture during the day to post. I moved into my house last September and it definitely didn't bloom last year. Hopefully it will this year as that last pic of yours in bloom is awesome. The clumps are huge so I imagine they have to be few years old. Thanks for the help.

Here are a few pictures that hopefully will help me get a further ID. I am going to do a bunch of comparing to Plant Files tonight.

And a closeup.

Kellydz, it is most definitely a miscanthus. I have about ten different kinds, and between the shimmering effect and the fact that it slices things, combined with its hesitancy to bloom makes me think that it is definitely Morning Light. It disappointed me by not blooming for a few years (it was the only one that didn't) because it requires a long season and some maturity to bloom. Mine has not bloomed yet, and tends to be the last to do so - usually in October.

Have a look at this closeup.

By the way, this is one of the most prized grasses.

For ease of cutting it down in the spring, I find using duct tape and a hedge trimmer - and long sleeves and gloves - work well.

That is definitely it. Well now I have a bit of a conundrum. I was actually planning on digging out several large clumps and composting them in the spring. Now that I know it is something someone else might want I don't want to feed them to my compost pile. I have about 6 clumps the size of the one in the 1st picture I posted. It isn't like I can send a huge clump to someone in a trade. :-)
Oh well, I have all winter to think about it. Thanks so much for your help with identifying. Your gardens are beautiful by the way.

Six is a lot of a grass that big! I have 8 miscanthus sinensis gracillimus, but they are much smaller in circumference. You really do have something quite wonderful. What about offering them on Dave's to someone who will come dig them out? I have seen this before. If you let people know what it is you would probably have some takers. If I had lived near you when I bought mine I certainly would have been interested.

I do have five Morning Light, but I specifically put them in to fill the role of shrubs.

And thank you for the sweet compliment!

Donna

That is a great idea. I know there is a Michigan forum so maybe I will put it there. I am definitely glad I found out what it was before composting it. The previous owners planted all the clumps as a natural fence for the pool pump, and at a corner of the privacy fence in lieu of a shrub or tree. Thanks again for the help.

Does anyone have the answer to getting rid of dwarf bamboo easily and effectively?

Hey Donna! Just wanted to tell you my Morning Light is blooming! I wasn't expecting it to because so many in cooler zones said it never blooms for them but it started today. Gonna take some pictures tomorrow to post. Thanks again for helping me ID it.

Kelly

Kelly,

Fantastic! Isn't it a beauty? Mine took a few years to bloom, as I mentioned above, but then did it every year thereafter. And it bloomed in October. Yours is a little earlier than mine (zone 5a vs. b). It's one of the last to bloom of all the miscanthus. But worth the wait.

Thank you for letting me know!

Donna