It's likely that all you can do is to keep it young, by continuous division. Greenlee says 3 1/2' without flowers, but to 7' with. Darke says 3'.

How long have you been growing it? Is it really evergreen? Does it reseed in your climate? Do you have seeds from it, to trade? I'd be happy to send you the postage for a few plumes.

The Western Garden Book also says 2 1/2-3 1/2'. I hadn't seen the Greenlee book, but I'm going to buy it today.
I believe the Evergreen Miscanthus is 2 1/2 years old, it is indeed evergreen, but we live in a very mild-winter area.
I need to get this bad boy back down in size, and would appreciate any information about cutting it back.
Thanks Again

If the bad boy is growing larger than anticipated then you need to get a different grass.

Trimming it back to maintain a specific, non-characteristic size would be similar to you wearing shirts that are 2 sizes too small.

Get a grass that is proven to be the desired size needed and move bad boy elsewhereÂs.

Why ruin the beauty of any plant by cropping it off to maintain a size?

Plenty of grasses out there. Do some research and get something more appropriate for the site.

Jake

I have no idea if this works with perennial grasses, but it definately does with some other flowering perennials. Tall blooming plants like Echinacea, Rudbeckia and Shasta Daisy can be trimmed in height, before flowering. They will then go on to flower at shorter heights. I can't begin to guess when the appropriate time to try it with your Miscanthus would be, but it's possible that it would work. The practice is to cut the plant back by 1/2 - 2/3 of it's height. In my zone, it's generally done in May for summer bloomers, and in June for fall bloomers. I think I'd rather try it on some practice plants (and I intend to try it next year) than with a specimen plant, but it's a thought.

My first suggestion, division, was not an idle one. There's an old adage about ornamental grasses that says, roughly, "In the first year they sleep, in the second they creep, and in the third they leap." It appears that yours is in the "leap" year. Dividing the plant effectively moves it back to it's first or second year, size-wise. Consider giving it a haircut, and dividing it into two or three smaller-crowned plants. Replant one division in the same spot, and the others elsewhere.

Another option is to transplant the offender to another more viable location, and replace it with a cultivar that achieves the height you need.

Thanks Donn and Jake for the advice. I love the plant and where it is. My thinking was with a haircut it would freshen the appearence when it came back and help with the size for another year ot two.

If it behaves like most warm-season OG's, a haircut will last only a short time. I cut my 2nd year Miscanthus from 3' to 3" above the crown last spring. This year, they regained that height and another foot and a half, in a single growing season. I divided two others, into 3 clumps each, and they only made it to 3', so the division set them back a year in their maturation.

The one thing about grasses, look at the ends of the fronds, the grass blades.

If you trim them back the fronds will have a straight or flat end as opposed to the typical pointed end.

Will this change in appearance be noticeable and if so how bad or good will it look?

Will the cut ends turn brown as some grasses and plants will do? Ugly appearance should that happen.

Donn - keep us posted with your test of trimming in early or mid season to control height.

In closing I feel that splitting a grass every year or even every two years does not give the gardener the full benefit of the grass in its full, natural beauty.

Gotta love the new ideas, tests and successes.

Jake