Zebra grass (miscanthus sinensis) is an ornamental plant that is also known as maiden grass, susuki grass, or eulalia grass. It is abundant in Asian nations — particularly Korea, Japan and China. This plant can grow from 4 up to 7 feet tall and a clump of zebra grass can spread from 2 to 4 feet wide.
Zebra grass is similar to its cousin monkey grass in that it is ideal as a border plant since it is deer-tolerant and will not spread unevenly. It being a deer-tolerant plant is the reason why a lot of people are choosing this type of ground cover for their backyard projects.
This plant will not leave you with too much dead foliage, so you don’t have to constantly clean the area surrounding it. Although it may look like a regular clump of grass at first glance, closer inspection shows that the tips of this grass is actually silver, making it look quite ethereal and beautiful. The foliage also has yellow bands making it look great if planted with other types of flowering plants.
If you are planning to add some zebra grass to your garden you should know what the plant requires so that it will grow well and beautifully for a long time to come. Here are the requirements of this ornamental grass:
• Lighting Conditions- Eulalia grasses grow well under the full sun but can also grow in the shade. If you want your grass to achieve its full bloom when in season make sure that you put it in full sunlight as doing otherwise can result in little to no blooms.
• Water conditions- This plant loves a slightly moist soil, which is why you should water it a couple times per week if it does not receive any rain. Although it can survive drought conditions it definitely prefers occasional water.
• Propagation- You can propagate this ornamental grass by getting some clumps from full grown zebra grass and planting it in another area. You can also plant seedlings but if you want to have the grass spread quickly and mature easily it will be best to propagate by separation.
You can plant zebra grass directly in the soil or you can make a garden bed for it, surrounding it with dwarf mondo grass and attractive flowers. Either way the plant should grow well as long as the soil is good and you fertilize and cultivate it often.