Miscanthus Giganteus

[Scott44]

Does anyone know if This will grow in Northern Wisconsin?


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I know some guys on another forum in MN had a hard time growing it, if I remember correctly they could grow it in the summer but had a hard time with winter kill. It grows good here in MI in zone 5b.

 

[Chainsaw]

Does anyone know if This will grow in Northern Wisconsin?


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MG grows well here in Northern New York. It is two years old; one winter had minus 25 temperature with snow cover and the next had minus 23 with no snow cover and it still looks fine.
We are on the line of zone 4b/5a

 

[Fish]

I have only read the concerns of our northern friends growing this grass. Hopefully others will share their experience. Iowa is a champion of miscanthus giganteus, so it must do ok there.
Michigan and northern New York sounds promising.

 

[Chainsaw]

Fish, I just remembered, the rhizomes I bought were grown in Canada.

 

[Fish]

Fish, I just remembered, the rhizomes I bought were grown in Canada.

Hmmmmm. I wonder if that makes a difference? Care to share your source?

 

[Chainsaw]

I will be glad to share the source but will have to do some digging to find it. It was back a couple of years and was only a one time purchase. I learned of the source from the QDMA forum;will get back to you when I run across it.

Actually Fish if the plants are of the exact same species (genotype) it shouldn't matter where they are raised; hardiness is all about their genes. My point was that since they are raised in Canada they are demonstrating to be at least hardy to that plant zone which could be somewhere between a zone 3 and a 6.

 

[alldaysit]

I will be buying some of these and am on the border of 4a/3b. I look forward to planting some. Does one plant these after the last frost of the season?

You guys know of any sources that are less than $0.70 a rhizome after the first 100?


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[Scott44]

That sounds like the price I have got them for, I have bought them from Maple Rivers Farms
http://www.mapleriverfarms.com/

 

[willy]

I'm jumping in with both feet. I ordered 2000 earlier this fall. If you are going through maple river get your order in sooner rather than later. They sell out. I put my order in last Feb and they were not able to fill it( I only asked for 300 at that time) They said they would fill my order for next year. I asked if I could edit the order and they said yes but to get it in early as they always sell out.

 

[Fish]

I will be glad to share the source but will have to do some digging to find it. It was back a couple of years and was only a one time purchase. I learned of the source from the QDMA forum;will get back to you when I run across it.

Actually Fish if the plants are of the exact same species (genotype) it shouldn't matter where they are raised; hardiness is all about their genes. My point was that since they are raised in Canada they are demonstrating to be at least hardy to that plant zone which could be somewhere between a zone 3 and a 6.

I am wondering because a persimmon tree born and raised in the south is not the same persimmon tree growing in the north as far as hardiness. But for our Northern folks, i hope it makes no difference. Maple River is in Owosso, MI. See we know they are hardy to that zone.

 

[Fish]

I will be buying some of these and am on the border of 4a/3b. I look forward to planting some. Does one plant these after the last frost of the season?

You guys know of any sources that are less than $0.70 a rhizome after the first 100?


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Id say anytime after the ground thaws. If ordering, you likely wont get them until then anyway.

 

[Fish]

I'm jumping in with both feet. I ordered 2000 earlier this fall. If you are going through maple river get your order in sooner rather than later. They sell out. I put my order in last Feb and they were not able to fill it( I only asked for 300 at that time) They said they would fill my order for next year. I asked if I could edit the order and they said yes but to get it in early as they always sell out.

That sounds like quite a planting! Good luck.

 

[willy]

Thanks Fish, I prepped the ground this late summer/early fall so weed competition should be stunted somewhat. I will apply pre-emergent prior to putting the rhizomes in the ground. I will be a one man band and will be a planting fool.

 

[Fish]

Thanks Fish, I prepped the ground this late summer/early fall so weed competition should be stunted somewhat. I will apply pre-emergent prior to putting the rhizomes in the ground. I will be a one man band and will be a planting fool.

I know the feeling.
With new rhizomes, i usually wait for a little greenup before spraying. They are slow to start and that way you can nuke any early spring growth.
Established clumps will pop with most other greenery, so gotta spray over them early.

 

[Oakseeds]

I,v got MG that is 7yrs old ... it did something this year that surprised me ... flopped starting in late summer (stalks bent over 30%) to a greater degree than it ever has in the past. I first suspected that it resulted from substantial rains/wind in the late summer. I now believe it resulted from it's growth cycle; since it grows outward in concentric circles (the center dies out or gets much smaller) on an annual basis, I suspect when the diameter is smaller in the early years, the stalks are closer together and form more compact common support (tight, upright, strong standing plants). I believe I need to dig each plant and subdivide it (make 4 clumps - planting one clump in the original hole/planting site) and moving the other 3 clumps to new sites. Ugh! digging MG is not fun. An additional phenomenon started 18 mo ago; I have volunteer MG plants springing up about 3-4 feet from one of my plants (I have transplanted 3 volunteers to date). This is interesting because MG is supposed to be sterile. This one plant appears to send out runners that develop into a new plant. Be careful about getting rhizomes in the ground too early; I wouldn't plant rhizomes until your soil temp reaches 50 degrees; they won't start to grow until it is close to 60.





The first photo shows the MG starting to flop during late summer (see the blooms); then photo showing MG in mid Dec. / photo 3 shows volunteer MG ; photo 4 shows transplant clump of MG and last photo shows transplant clump after 1 yr. Hope this gives you insight and excitement about planting some MG. One final note; the miscanthus on the left in the first photo (showing no flop) is maiden grass (miscanthus gracillimus) also called silver grass that stands very well as a screen well into winter / I think it is as good as MG - maybe cost a little more (look for deep discounts at big box stores at end of season and accumulate plant numbers slowly by subdividing in the future).
P.S. can you see the volunteer miscanthus plant in the 1st photo?
Give me a shout if I can help in any way.

 

[alldaysit]

I put in my order for 101 rhizomes. I currently don't have a lot I "need" to screen but after I put in my order I figured out the planting rate is basically "every 9 inches" not every 18". That makes a big difference. Now I will be planting the most critical areas, and using Egyptian wheat "where it would be nice" to try a screen.

I will also be planting ten rhizomes at home as I seen someone else do and then take the cuttings from those over the years. How many cuttings can one get off a planted rhizome from two years ago in average?


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[Fish]

View attachment 5021 I,v got MG that is 7yrs old ... it did something this year that surprised me ... flopped starting in late summer (stalks bent over 30%) to a greater degree than it ever has in the past. I first suspected that it resulted from substantial rains/wind in the late summer. I now believe it resulted from it's growth cycle; since it grows outward in concentric circles (the center dies out or gets much smaller) on an annual basis, I suspect when the diameter is smaller in the early years, the stalks are closer together and form more compact common support (tight, upright, strong standing plants). I believe I need to dig each plant and subdivide it (make 4 clumps - planting one clump in the original hole/planting site) and moving the other 3 clumps to new sites. Ugh! digging MG is not fun. An additional phenomenon started 18 mo ago; I have volunteer MG plants springing up about 3-4 feet from one of my plants (I have transplanted 3 volunteers to date). This is interesting because MG is supposed to be sterile. This one plant appears to send out runners that develop into a new plant. Be careful about getting rhizomes in the ground too early; I wouldn't plant rhizomes until your soil temp reaches 50 degrees; they won't start to grow until it is close to 60.
View attachment 5022
View attachment 5023
View attachment 5024

View attachment 5026
The first photo shows the MG starting to flop during late summer (see the blooms); then photo showing MG in mid Dec. / photo 3 shows volunteer MG ; photo 4 shows transplant clump of MG and last photo shows transplant clump after 1 yr. Hope this gives you insight and excitement about planting some MG. One final note; the miscanthus on the left in the first photo (showing no flop) is maiden grass (miscanthus gracillimus) also called silver grass that stands very well as a screen well into winter / I think it is as good as MG - maybe cost a little more (look for deep discounts at big box stores at end of season and accumulate plant numbers slowly by subdividing in the future).
P.S. can you see the volunteer miscanthus plant in the 1st photo?
Give me a shout if I can help in any way.

That looks like miscanthus sinensis to me, Oakseeds. And not Miscanthus Giganteus. I have never heard of Giganteus sending out rhizomes. Where did you get this grass, Oakseeds?
Sinensis will seed in unwanted places and is considered an invasive.

 

[Fish]

I put in my order for 101 rhizomes. I currently don't have a lot I "need" to screen but after I put in my order I figured out the planting rate is basically "every 9 inches" not every 18". That makes a big difference. Now I will be planting the most critical areas, and using Egyptian wheat "where it would be nice" to try a screen.

I will also be planting ten rhizomes at home as I seen someone else do and then take the cuttings from those over the years. How many cuttings can one get off a planted rhizome from two years ago in average?


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It will depend on the vigor of the grass according to planting location. On average, you could maybe snip 3-4 for cuttings off each clump after 2 years and not make much difference. Just gonna depend on number of shoots.

 

[Scott44]

Went back and pulled cards the other day and this is what the MG looks like this time of year.

 

[Fish]

Went back and pulled cards the other day and this is what the MG looks like this time of year.

Nice! I have single rows that i can see through this time of year. Double rows less so. But as those clumps continue to expand, you should see even greater screening.
Do you knock the stalks down in late winter?