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Miscanthus transmorrisonensis (Evergreen Eulalia) - Evergreen clumping grass with foliage to 3-4 feet tall and spreading to 6 to 8 feet wide. The plant is graced by arching 5-6 feet tall flowering stems that arch up and out from the foliage with flowers that emerge link golden fingers that age to silky silver. Flowering occurs late spring through winter here in our Santa Barbara garden but in other locations may begin a little later and not past late summer.
Plant in full sun to part shade where it is pretty drought resistant but looks best with occasional watering. Evergreen in southern California and root hardy down to USDA Zone 6 (-10 degrees F). It is an attractive grass that is excellent for a dramatic accent and is good also for erosion control, but one needs to give this plant some room to grow as it becomes quite wide. It makes an excellent accent plant or planted in mass in a border, near a pool, in a meadow, or along a slope and as a cut flower is good in flower arrangements.
Miscanthus transmorrisonensis is closely related to Miscanthus sinensis and it has been synonymized with this species by some, but it really is horticulturally distinct. Unlike Miscanthus sinensis, which has become weedy in some locations, this species rarely reseeds in the garden - the only seedling we have had in our garden was a spontaneous seedling hybrid between it a Miscanthus sinensis. Rick Darke, in his Color Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses notes that the original plants of Miscanthus transmorrisonensis were brought into the United States in 1979 by Paul Meyer of the Morris Arboretum. Meyer had collected the seed at 9,500 feet elevation on Mt Daxue in Taiwan with Carl Ferris Miller of the Chollipo Arboretum Foundation in Taean-gun, South Korea. Our thanks go out to "The Grassman" John Greenlee for introducing us to this grass in 1990 and we have grown it in our nursery ever since. John has long called this plant "the best Miscanthus for the west."
The name Miscanthus was given to this genus of perennial grasses native to Japan and the Philippines by the 19th century Swedish botanist Nils Johan Andersson. It comes from the Greek words 'miskos' which means "stem" or "stalk" and 'anthos', meaning "flowers" in reference to the seed heads having stalked spikelets. The specific epithet with the Latin prefix 'trans' meaning "extending across", "through", or "over" references its origin, meaning that it grew extensively on Mount Morrison in Taiwan.
This information about Miscanthus transmorrisonensis displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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