What is yours doing? I acquired these rather late in the summer, and mine are brown and appear to be dead. :(
Japanese forest grass Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola'
They get like that every winter, then they come back in the spring. Mine started sprouting probably about a month ago and since you're in a lot colder zone I would think yours would be a bit farther behind. PF lists them as hardy to 5b so I guess there's a chance they might not make it through the winter for you, but I definitely wouldn't give up yet.
you know after I posted, I relaized that some sources list it as only hardy to zone 6.
Mine looks brown and dead also. But then again, it's been so cold here, there's not too much that looks alive, other than some columbines. This was the first winter for mine, so I'm not sure what to expect yet.
Dee
I would be patient with them, it's definitely not the first thing to leaf out in the spring around here so I wouldn't be surprised if it held out on you for a bit longer before it starts to show new growth.
Thanks! :)
I think they will be perfectly hardy for you. Get your eyes right down to the ground and see if you can see any little sprouts coming up. Mine have just tiny, tiny, dark, little sprouts showing. I have had all the different ones for many years, going down to -10 with no problem. (We've always been zone 5a until the new map came out, I think the Hakonechloas are hardier than advertised).
I actually just moved mine, so I can keep a closer eye on them. Everything else has at least some little bits of green. I got these on a clearance special at HD. Think I better search for my receipt!
I think you ought wait a few weeks more. If you bought in late in the season, it wouldn't have aclimated as well as it could, especially if you fertilized it, and maybe it will come up a bit later. After all, you have a whole year for your guarantee. Give it a fair chance.
If it is dead, you might want to try to figure out why before you try again. It is certainly hardy in your zone, as people here grow it in zone 4a, including myself, although it is not a plant for the casual gardener. I have no problem with you bringing back a dead plant and getting your money back, but to automatically and prematurely take advantage of the guarantee is, well, not what I would do.
Still waiting, and hoping! Haven't given up yet. I do think it's dead, lack of moisture most likely culprit. It's been very dry here. If I find it again, I will take better care to amend the soil, mulch and water. As a general rule, I don't fertilize. Has yours spread? That's a good sign that you have suceeded in meeting the plants requirements.
None of mine have shown any life yet, but I don't expect them to yet. All Gold has easily doubled, but the others just plug along and increase only by a bit.
I am in zone 5 and like you I live in Illinois. I planted five small hakonekloas last fall. Four the five are coming back despite horrendous spring weather. I think the key to their survival was a protected site and excellent drainage. Also note that In our climate their growth is slow and not nearly as luxuriant as specimens grown in the Pacific Northwest.
I hope yours come back.
Mine is an a western-facing, slightly raised bed It's definitely showing signs of life...
isn't it a warm season grass?
Don't know. My All Gold blooms kind of late for a cool season grass, but kind of early for a warm season one.
BTW, as All Gold is a more upright cultivar, the seed heads are quite ornamental.
I have the All Gold and the Alba...both are sprouting from the base right now, and the Alba is even starting to show some green.
When/where in the garden did you plant Noreaster? Mine look dead (still).
The alba is in a small raised bed, kind of top of a big piece of ledge. I think I planted it early/mid summer. I was also kind of concerned about it coming back since I read a few sites that only rated it to zone 6, so I'm glad it made it. The All Gold is to the right of this bed.
That is pretty, love your trees as well. I think I planted mine too late, I should've potted them up and over-wintered. Ah well, have to kill it to really know it, right? LOL
PG, I wouldn't give up on yours yet, if Noreaster lived right next door to you, had planted it at the same time you did, and had the plant in a very similar microclimate to where yours are planted then maybe it's time to give up, but even though you're in the same zone, you're in different parts of the country and there are enough variations in weather, soil, microclimates, etc that plants could be several weeks apart on coming back (particularly if yours were a little more stressed because of being newly planted). I never give up on anything until at least June, and our spring starts a lot earlier than yours does! If another month goes by and you haven't seen anything then you can be more sure it's not coming back but personally I wouldn't give up hope yet.
I'll wait until June then, I really, really like this grass. Meanwhile, I've found out that carex like similar conditions and are hardier, with a similar look...
Carex is pretty too. It doesn't have quite that cascading look of the Hakonechloa, but still very pretty if that one doesn't come back for you. I'll keep my fingers crossed though!
I've got my fingers crossed for you, as well. I love that grass, too. One of my other favorite plants that I put in last summer was Brunnera "Jack Frost", and that one seems to be missing in action, which is a real bummer. I had two- one that I moved into the ground from a container late in the season, and one that was planted right in the ground early/mid summer. I guess I'll be waiting it out, too...but sure would like to know what went wrong if they both fail to come back.
Noreaster, my Brunnera Jack Frost just popped.
PG-pull on the Hakonechloa, if it seems rooted, don't give up. It is perfectly hardy for you. I had some left in 4 inch pots, on top of the ground, and they wintered over.
Thanks for giving me a shred of hope to go to sleep on, Polly:) Someone in another thread said that their Brunnera was up, and they were in zone 4, which made me think mine were goners for sure....so I guess that comes back to what ecrane was talking about earlier with the all the variations in conditions/weather being a factor...
Makes a big difference if you just planted them last year. Some plants newly planted take so much longer to come up, others seem to come up earlier.
Sleep tight!
My brunnera (plain green kind) is blooming! It looks so pretty in front of a big hosta, I threw in a golden creeping jenny from a pot right next to it, I would take a picture but nothing's filled in yet. It is definitely a winning combination. I asked at the nursery yesterday for more brunnera, they hadn't gotten it in yet, so it must be slower to wake up.
Lucky you that your's is actually blooming! I looked it up the other day and read that is blooms in the Spring...I was like, uh oh, I think I have to see some leaves pretty quick here if that's gonna happen. But, it's only been Spring here for the last week or so, I'd say. All my hostas range from a half inch to two inches above the ground right now.
That does sound like a nice combo with the creeping jenny. Now there's a plant that is a survivor! I had some left over in one of those six pack plug things that I ended up not using, and just sort of put it off to the side...sure enough, it survived the winter in the six pack.
It should be okay. My hostas are coming out now, some have been chewed on but otherwise appear fine. If you just planted it, be esp. patient. This is my second or third spring, it's verry slow. It's not as moist as it likes either, and I've moved it once or twice. Finally coming into it's own, more than a few new leaves, looks like it likes where it is now. Those blue flowers get me every time!
My Jack Frost has been blooming for a week. It's a weird one as some people just through it in the ground and it grows (me), and some people can't keep it going. For what it's worth, mine grows in rich, dry soil as in is just outside the drip line of a large maple. Leaves do get a little ragged by the end of the summer.
Ok, now I'm feeling all sad about my Jack Frost again. My soil is very rich, and I think the locations are quite protected. There literally is NO sign of life there. And they did great all summer..especially the one in the container. It just seems odd that ever single other thing I planted last summer made it- ferns, hosta, hakone grass, heuchera, solomon's seal, sedum...most of the hosta have really increased, too...everything there except the brunnera.
I plan on stopping by the nursery that I bought them both from tomorrow and see what they have to say about it.
This message was edited May 1, 2007 11:24 PM
Mine is in the exact same conditions now as yours is Leftwood, but it looked pathetic last year. Come to think of it, I started out with two of these, so don't give up Nor'a. You may've just got a picky one. I wanted to get a couple more, so far have only seen them for $10 each, too much for something so iffy. I think, same as the Hakone grass, some of these plants really prefer the rich, rich soils of older gardens, which I don't quite have yet.
Well, the guy at the nursery was not too helpful- he said I may have lost both of them. If that turns out to be the case,(and I'm not throwing in the towel just yet), I'd still like to know why, when ever single other plant came thru just fine. I thought it was supposed to be a pretty hard perennial, but maybe not? I also checked out the brunnera at the nursery and saw that there were a few that looked as if they had just recently started to grow...others were a little bigger and yes, blooming. And yes, it is a pricey plant- another reason I hope I haven't lost them.
Still nothing from your Hakone grass yet, Prairie Girl? Have any of your Hostas started unfulrling?
My hostas appear to be fine, except the biggest one got munched on way before it unfurled, so is full of holes. Oh well. Not much hope for my hakone grass, not a spark of green yet. Still waiting...
Actually, it seems I have no life in my white and green hakone grass either. All Gold is well on it's way. Aureola slow, as it always is. I really don't make too much of that. I have so much else going on now I don't have time to worry about it. I will dig the corpse up and look at the roots soon though.
Leftwood, do they usually come back for you? I've generally seen them listed as hardy to 5b so I'd be surprised if they regularly overwintered in 4a. But sometimes things are hardier than they get credit for!
Albo Striata and Aureola I have had for six years. All Gold for three. But All Gold is so vigorous in comparison. It is twice the size that either of the others ever were.
I've had my Aureola for a few years, too. It's about an inch high at this point and always a slow starter. So, I'm really interested to learn about All Gold! Thanks Leftwood.
Sandy
PrairieGirl, not sure where you are in relation to me, but I haven't seen one sign of life in my grasses yet, any of em.
Aw shoot. 'Auereola' had such pretty variegation. If I'm fortunate to find it again, I will definitely keep it potted up and take it inside in winter (I have an unheated south-facing enclosed front porch that would be perfect for it!). Autopsy results indicate that roots were fine, the plants budded but then died, probably due to that warm spell followed by a cold spell. It was chilly here even today.