…October: tricks and treats…

      Featured Plant of the Month: Maiden Grass, Miscanthus sinensis

• Garden Location: The Inn, Garden Railroad, Oval Garden, Ornamental Grass Garden

• Distinguishing Features: Maiden Grass is one of the most beautiful perennials during the autumn and winter months. Its showiest feature is its reddish bronze seed heads (which look like corn tassels and are called inflorescences) which sit atop each leaf blade and “spill” to one side of the stalk as they mature. Maiden Grass foliage grows densely in an upright form. The flat and stiff leaf blades measure approximately ½ ” in width, and are medium green in late summer and fade to buff as autumn progresses, producing one of the most striking displays of fall color in The Gardens.

• Growth and Maintenance: Native to China, this ornamental grass is relatively easy to grow in urban areas due to its tolerance of heat, drought, and alkaline soil. Reaching a mature height of 6 to 7 feet, Maiden Grass is fast-growing and spreads 6 to 8 feet which makes it ideal for use either as a specimen plant or a screen. It is tolerant of most soils types, provided that it is well-drained. Maiden Grass requires only light watering once established, and prefers full sun but will tolerate partial shade. To produce the showiest plant, dried foliage should be trimmed 6-12” above the ground each spring and the plant should be divided every 3-4 years when the center becomes hollow.

Pumpkin
Cucurbita spp.
Pumpkin Patch

Green Ash
Fraxinus pennsylvanica
Deciduous Woodland

Rabbit Brush
Chrysothamnus nauseosus
Hobbit Hole, Parking Lot, Rock Garden, Water Garden

Amur Maple
Acer ginnala
Deciduous Woodland

Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass
Calamagrostis acutiflora
The Inn, Parking Lot, Ornamental Grass Garden

Gourd
Assorted varieties
Pumpkin Patch

All photos by The Hudson Foundation