# Can you Name this Plant? Please, Please? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 26, 2014, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-this-plant-please-please/684627 "2014-03-26T19:59:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-this-plant-please-please/684627/21 "2014-03-27T20:47:24Z")
I was looking at the Daves Garden entry for Maiden Grass. It grows in a wide range of zones. I’m in zone 7. > **[PlantFiles: Miscanthus, Dwarf Maiden Grass, Eulalia, Maiden Grass, Zebra...](https://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/80743/)** > > Browse pictures and read growth / cultivation information about Miscanthus, Dwarf Maiden Grass, Eulalia, Maiden Grass, Zebra Grass, Chinese Silvergrass (Miscanthus sinensis) 'Yaku Jima' supplied by... It doesn’t set seed. Thats good. No mention whether the leaves are razor sharp. Does sound a lot better than Pampas grass. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-this-plant-please-please/684627/22 "2014-03-27T20:49:53Z")
That is pampas grass. I planted one in the front yard of this house I used to rent. Boy, was that a bad idea. It sort of took over the whole yard and really wrecked the flow of the landscaping I had going: way too large for the small space it was in. And I really paid for my mistake because then I bought the house directly across the street, so every time I look out my front window, my biggest landscaping mistake looks right back at me. face palm. ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-this-plant-please-please/684627/23 "2014-03-27T20:59:24Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > No mention whether the leaves are razor sharp. They’re not. I’ve worked with them for many, many years and it’s possible I may have gotten a paper cut or two but I don’t recall any. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-this-plant-please-please/684627/24 "2014-03-27T21:24:25Z")
Maiden grass sounds like a good choice. thanks MacCat ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-this-plant-please-please/684627/25 "2014-03-27T22:43:13Z")
You’re very welcome. Maiden Grass is a common name used for most of the species I put in parentheses above. To be sure you get what you want, select a cultivar to match the characteristics you want. The old standby is M. sinensis ‘_Gracillimus_’. By me, the foliage gets to be a good six feet tall by the same width and wider, especially after a few years. Another nice one, very slightly smaller is ‘_Morning Light_’ with a silvery foliage. There are cultivars that get even larger, ‘_Cosmopolitan_’ a very attractive example with variegated foliage and beautiful flower spikes. With the aforementioned ‘_Yaku Jima_’ those have been the best performers for me. There is a popular variety called ‘_Variegatus_’ that seems to always flop open. I don’t know if they’ll behave the same in your zone as mine. After a few years, we will divide them up to keep them fresh and give away some. If they’re very large, we’ll cut out the center and replace with a nice big division or two which quickly grow to full size. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-this-plant-please-please/684627/26 "2014-03-28T03:36:42Z")
The church by me put “variegatus” on a hill so when it is in full flop, it looks almost like wavy green hair. The effect is quite pretty. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-this-plant-please-please/684627/27 "2014-03-28T04:37:15Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > The photo linked to in the OP looks like Liriope (monkey grass)…: That’s what I came in to say. Liriope for sure. Whilst the flower of the liriope is normally purple, there is a white variety too and your photo is identical to those elsewhere on the web. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-this-plant-please-please/684627.md?page=1)