Miscanthus experts! Please advise.

I received several 3" pots of M.s. 'Gold Bar' from Park's wholesale's clearance sale. Due to lousy packaging, all the foliage (12-18") is limp, broken and wilty. The root systems look fine.

Park's "horticulturalist" told me to snip off the broken foliage at the point of the break, and that new foliage would eventually hide it.

I'm thinking I should pretend it's still spring, and give them a full haircut.

What do you think?

Thanks in advance.

Donn

I'm thinking don't buy from Parks. I purchased from Park Wholesale this year, some trees. I called and complained about the six that all the leaves were off from, and the branches all broken, and they said there was nothing wrong with the trees and to wait and they would be OK. I posted on the tree forum, and some very helpful people there said not to wait, and it was doubtful my trees would ever make it. I then recontacted Parks, and asked them to make it right, or I was going to leave a bad recommendation on Daves Garden. They then sent me some trees in excellent condition. This is what I recommend you do. This was also Parks Horticulturist.

The Miscanthus may come back. I received a flat of similar from Kurt Bluemel (who by the way I have absolutely no complaints about), and they never did come back.

Would love to hear how it turns out for you, Donn.

Polly

Donn-Great advice from Polly. "Playing with my money is like playing with my emotions!" LOL I hope you get your replacements ASAP. Having said that, if you plant and water the grass it should be just fine, as in it will survive the winter. Next spring, cut it down early and I mean with the weed whacker! I lost some plants last year because I didn't cut them back short enough, early enough, and they got shaded out. If you decide to risk it, since the ideal situation would be that they just send more, I would really like to know if you can "pretend it's spring" except I can't afford to lose mine, LOL. I have a KF that my husband planted too deeply when he moved it (he covered the part that fountains if you know what I mean) and by the time I noticed it, a few days later, the plant had turned yellow. I rescued it and re-planted in a different spot, this was in May. I would love to try cutting it all down, but I'm chicken, it has a really big base and I know it will be fine next year. Happy gardening! :0)

I cut all six of them down when I potted them up, and they are already starting to throw up new foliage. In the meanwhile, Parks has replaced the entire order, and the replacements are a little better. 2 of them were unscathed, about 12" tall, but the other 4 were already cut back. They'll get potted up as well, and then all 12 will get planted out later. The final price was $1.40 each, for what appear to be nice healthy 3" plugs. The root systems on the first 6 were excellent. They all have a nice long warm season to regrow their foliage.

I also got 10 Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah' and 10 M.s.'Gracillimus' at the same prices. The Panicum came without any foliage, and the 'Gracillimus' came bareroot.

My backyard looks like a nursery now, because I just got a trade of 3 Pennisetum orientale 'Karley Rose' and 5 P.v. 'Heavy Metal' divisions. Add those to over 100 pots of newly winter sown grass clumps and transplants of last year's grasses from nursery beds to pots. I still have probably another hundred winter sown clumps to pot up. I'm working on a huge snaking drip irrigation system to deal with them.

WoW! You got a great deal. Sometimes we have what I call "dumb luck" LOL. I have one each of M.s. 'Little Zebra' and 'Silberfeder' that need to be divided and put in the ground, that pales in comparison to your dilemna. I will wait to cut the feather reed grass back, since it is a cool season grass. Maybe I should do that in fall?

edited to say: Well I cut the grass down w/the weed wacker and it's sending up a few green shoots already, so I know the roots are intact. There's always next year! :0)

This message was edited Jul 19, 2006 1:04 AM