Festuca glauca
chasmanthium latifolium
sz.... little bluestem :)

no sign yet of:
sorghastrum nutens
pennisetum
carex comans (which I admitted in another post I may have screwed up on)
carex buchanii (maybe I just can't tell, since it's brown!)
panicum virgatum
miscanthus

I'm really surprised about the little bluestem, since it's a warm-season grass. I know it is growing, though, because I cut it back and the nubs are coming through the stubble. (Technical grass terms, there. lol.)

My two Miscanthus varieties just planted last year are showing new growth. Just cut them back about a week ago. I have a variegated sweet flag grass that is evergreen here. My Pennisetum is growing now too, just starting. I plan to add about 5 more varieties of grasses this year : ) I love Spring!

Jen

Everything, even the panicums have come to life. It helps to be on the coast in zone 8 though...lol.

Chasmanthium latifolium and Panicum virgatum 'Strictum' came to life today.

All of my grasses are showing signs of life
Miscanthus
Pennisetums
Revennae
Festuca
Purple love grass
Calamagrostis Karl Foerester and Brachytricha
My Miscanthus 'adagio' is already over a foot tall. It's kind of strange that it is so far ahead of the others.

Hakonechloa macra spp. and 'Aureola' and Carex morrowii 'Ice Dance' join the list.

Well, I must be in a cold spot of zone 5 after all because I only have weak signs of life (perhaps a dozen green leaves) from calamagrostis Karl Foerster, and 1 (one) green shoot on spartina pectinata aureomarginata. Miscanthus strictus and Graziella as well as spodiopogon sibiricus are still "asleep". I console myself with tulips some of which already display fat flowerbuds (fosteriana Flaming Purissima, I believe). I wonder if I will see the blooms before my dog gets them -- for the full story, read my posting at the clematis forum :-]

Happy gardening !

I just started seeing growth stubs from:

sorghastrum nutens 'Sioux Blue'
pennisetum 'Hameln'
carex comans 'Frosted Curls' (Donn, the heavily cutback one--the ends of the blades are still straight right now, but they're only out about 1/4')
miscanthus 'Zebrinus' and also an unknown variety

Still nothing yet on my panicums, though.

hakonechloa macra 'aureola' is now sprouting too

I was just going 'walk-about' to see "what was growing for me" BUT ... I just looked at our weather forecast for the weekend. At least 3 days with lows of -7C (19.4F). So... maybe I'll just wait until after this return to the FREEZER and then I will report in with "what's still growing for me" :o(

A.

Yep. We've got a cold snap coming as well. Today's the last day over 50°F for about a week, and we'll have 3 nights at or below freezing. Yuck! During the next week or so, I'm expecting 30 plants from Bluestone, 72 grass plugs and a couple of hundred Onion plants. Add the new Darke book, and tax time.

Busy busy.

Two more are growing:

Hystrix patula
Luzula sylvatica

also leymus/elymus arenarius is growing and sesleria caerulea is in bloom :-)

New ones growing:

Nassella tenuissima
Festuca marei
Miscanthus sinensis 'New Hybrids'
Miscanthus sinensis 'Central Park'
Pennisetum alopecuroides

Definitely warmer down your way!
I am seriously glad that none of my 'warm' season grasses have started and that the others aren't very far along. We have a light skim of snow & temps far enough below freezing to do serious damage to some of the plants that have ventured up toooo early :o( Not to mention how sad I feel about the insect eating birds that arrived last week .... I have been watching a couple of them & wonder what I could possibly do to help ... sigh.

Anna Beth - you must live in a VERY warm zone 5 to have your grasses so far advanced ... Maybe I should move further south. It would certainly make me happier at this time of the year. Watching the Masters Golf this weekend has me in serious zone envy!
A.

Only icicles right now:
{{gwi:852730}}

Argh. This pic was taken on Easter, but I still have over 6in of snow in the lowest spots--and the deepest are over a foot.

By the way, achnatherum, if you have robins in mind you can feed them fruit. I have been occasionally hurling an apple onto my driveway for the robins who like to visit my yard. The impact splits the skin just enough to get them started, and the robins take over from there. (Poor guys... I hate seeing them trying to dig in 6+ inches of snow. Such futility.)

Ugh! I guess that's why all those Indians games were cancelled.

I sure don't miss the snow belt.

More life!

Anthoxanthum odoratum
Eragrostis spectabilis
Imperata cylindrica 'Red Baron'
Miscanthus sinensis 'Gracillimus'
Sporobolus heterolepsis

Donn, I'm not even IN the snow belt! Well, not usually... just got, um, "lucky" this time.

About that eragrostis spectabilis. I have been thinking about growing some, but it would not be hardy for me here. Would it grow enough in one season, in your experience, to be worthwhile? (I am enamored of that flowery haze that hovers over the blades of grass in pictures.)

E. spectabilis blooms in it's first year from seed for me, and it's hardy to zone 5.

I would be happy to confirm E. spectabilis right into S. W. Ontario, Canada (zone 5) and I have a feeling that it would be good at least to zone 4. Nice grass!

Btw Donn, the seed you sent me for comparison purposes has germinated .... 100%. I know have a mini lawn in a pot!
A.

Cool! In my zone, it's a moderate self-seeder. In fact, I winnowed the seed in the driveway, and I have a nice crop of it growing in the cracks. Last year I let it flower before cutting it back, and it looked quite nice against the black asphalt.

It's a 'tumbleweed' type seed spreader. Whole branches of seed heads break off and blow through the garden. With it, and all my other seed-grown grasses, I spend an hour each morning, wandering through the garden with a long-handled circle hoe, grubbing out grasses which have sprung up where I don't want them.

Hmm... I wonder where I was seeing that it wasn't as hardy as that? (Can I blame brain-freeze or something?!!!) Thanks to both of you! :)

My festuca 'blue select' is starting to form it's seed heads. Isn't it a little early for that? By the way, the plants are green, not at all blue. But that's ok, I like them anyway.

My Eragrostis Spectabilis that was winter sown this year was bitten by a hard freeze we had earlier this week. I think it's still alive, just a little damaged. My established E. spectabilis that was winter sown last year wasn't even touched and growing beautifully.

Now that the garden is uncovered, I can add to my report! Here's what else is starting to grow in the garden:

Hakonechloa macra 'aureola'
'Sioux Blue' sorghastrum nutens (barely)

I do hope your cold spell is over.. The winter and spring have been very mild here. I've just spent two perfectly sunny days outside cleaning the beds and preparing a new one as I will be transplanting some prairie grass and perennials. I am happy to report that my (few) grasses are all growing now and are ca. 4" tall, except the calamagrostis which is 1' tall. Miscanthus is the slowest to emerge but it is bracing itself to face life again. The prairie grass is spreading happily. The beds look really neat with the grasses trimmed short and the blooming tulips (Fosteriana Flaming Purissima, Apricot Beauty and Negrita - the last one just about to open its flowers). I keep mentioning the tulips because I really admire them and the cats are doing so much damage (catmint planted nearby) that I better enjoy what I can before they get trampled to death, with buds not even opened :-/ I inspect the beds every morning and evening and each time find new leaves and flowers broken. I stacked so many anti-cat twigs over those tulips that I can hardly see them but it does not seem to help much. The grasses are totally cat-resistant, of course :-)

Species Panicum virgatum is just starting. Nothing from 'Heavy Metal' or 'Shenandoah' yet.

I keep forgetting Bamboo is a grass. My Dwarf Variegated has been growing for a few weeks, and the patch has doubled in size again this year. At the rate it's going, it'll be a great underplanting for the Yellow Groove grove. It supposedly likes shade, and it'll get plenty of that. The Yellow Groove also started shooting today, with just a couple so far.

Central Ohio

Hakonechloa macra "All Gold" ... was out very nice 2" by the end of March, all growth killed by cold freeze... starting to grow again now. Out early just like Japanese Maples

Miscanthus 'Gigantheus' started growing by end of March, killed by cold freeze

none of the other Miscanthus is up...so why was 'Gigantheus' so much earlier?

Arundo donax, still hiding

Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Moudry' joins the list.

Pennisetum orientale
Tridens flavus
Miscanthus sinensis 'Gold Bar'

Carex grayii was left off the list. It started a few days back.

Miscanthus sinensis 'Malepartus'
Panicum virgatum 'Heavy Metal'
Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah'

Cortaderia selloana (Yahoo! Survived another winter!)
Pennisetum orientale 'Karley Rose'

I think I'll take the plunge and put the Pampas Grass in the ground. This is it's 3rd season from seed, but it's spent both winters in buried pots. I'll find it a nice warm and protected spot (if possible).