I've grown M. 'Morning Light' in quite dry conditions, and it did very well and was very beautiful. It gets very wide, so give it plenty of room so it can fully develop its exceptionally graceful form.

The Carex is a winter grower for me...not sure about zone 5...meaning it actually puts on new growth and looks its best over the cooler months. It's a great plant for shady areas. It does like it moist, but it's also quite tolerant of drier areas if it gets supplemental water from time to time. It really lights up a shade garden.

I also like some of the smaller grasses because they provide alot of bang and are easier to maintain than the giant grasses. Miscanthus 'Little Zebra' is a fav, as is Muhlenbergia capillaris and Calamagrostis brachytrichia.

I would say the Carex o. 'Evergold' is the one that would have the most problem with dry conditions in sun. It likes part shade and moisture. The others can take full sun and regular watering. In any case, all of them will need to be watered the first years to get them established, and especially now and until the ground freezes, prior to going into the winter in zone 5. In my experience in zone 4b, grasses are better planted in the spring to get them established before winter, but give it a go.

I agree with what others have said about the carex. I have 'Testacea', 'Gold Fountains' and 'Evergold'. Best color, no parching in semi-shade, moist areas.

If you look at this blog article of mine, the Evergold is to the left of the waterfall (there are actually 3); one is showing along the "dew" captioned photo; last photo, there are clumps showing on the left.

Those are growing on the east side of the house, receiving morning sun and southern sun until about 2:00pm in the summer. It gets really hot here in zone 7 in the summer, but these are all tucked up under other shrubs. I have 'Gold Fountains' tucked up under shrubs in the full sun, southern garden. Those get a little parched on the blade edges.

Hope this helps,
Cameron

Here is a link that might be useful: carex

The place I have in mind for the carex has morning shade til around 1 pm, and some spotty afternoon shade moving over it. It is moister than the rest of the strip, by being next to a downspout.

I really like this plant: I may go get more if I could figure out where to put them. I have lots of dry shade in a back garden raised bed under ash trees. I have a watering systems set up there. But it gets pretty dry if I donÂt stay on top of it. Will they take dry shade? With occasional good soaks? Hosta does OK, and and astilbe do well there. The gold color would really light up that area.

How big does M. 'Morning Light' get? The tag said 5 feet tall and wide, is that correct?. I would like a large "anchor" for this space. But more than 5 feet wide would be pushing it. Fast grower? ItÂs a gallon pot now so is only maybe 6 inches in diameter.

The Cabaret Grass is supposed to get as tall but be narrower. That one is a wider bladed striped grass, green with white streaks. ItÂs also a miscanthus sinensis but a variant.

I think I will lay a soaker in this area to help get these plants established.

I see beautiful grasses in lots of gardens but I really donÂt know how to integrate them into my current garden. Except for some older shrubs in my front yard everything is oriented toward flowers (except for heuchera and hosta). I have a large island bed in the front I am renovating: keeping the shrubs and working in new perennials. I have a huge old mugho pine at one end (easily 15 feet tall), toward the street, in between variegated weigelia (2), barberries (2), and some bronzy dwarf spirea at the opposite end and Palace Purple heuchera. There is a lot of color variation in the leaves, from solid green (the pine) to green and white, to purple, to bronze. Since I bought 4 grasses IÂm thinking about putting one of them here but I canÂt figure out where it would look good and which one. The pine casts a lot of shade so probably not right next to that.

i'm not aware of moist for any except maybe carex and i do grow all those you purchased.
i am more worried that you may lose them(but not the carex)
because they plume now and you are planting them now. i have lost them when i planted them in fall and another poster in z.5 had same experience(others have succeeded.) i would suggest you score or cut their sides- likely tight mass of potbound roots- and pull them a bit, to encourage new root growth before freeze. put heavy weights on top of them to keep them from heaving over the winter. don't be surprised if you lose them come next year but be delighted if you DIDN'T lose them!

hameln is lovely w/ bl eyed susans and sedum aut joy .....

great that you got the variega. cabaret to give you some punch next to the green of morn light.

best,
mindy

Here is a link that might be useful: GW thread about planting grasses in plume

I was just skimming posts looking for info on these and ran across some saying they shouldnÂt be planted now but in the spring. Ouch. Even on sale they were not cheap.

None of these have plumes, at least not yet. I figured it was better to buy the ones without. Am I better off to sink them pot and all into my vegetable garden for the winter? Then put lots of bark mulch around on top? IÂve done that before when I ran out of time to plant my "sale" items, so far it has worked but I donÂt know how picky these grasses are. How do nurseries keep over the ones they donÂt sell?

It is true that spring planting is best but I have planted several times in the fall, even as late as the middle of October and they have always come out fine. I have very sandy soil with sharp drainage so maybe that helps.

here in new england it is very rare to find soil such as yours. (i WISH!!). occassionally I'll hear from new england seacoast gardeners with sandy sharp drainage.
best,
mindy

Linnea, you have them, so mulch them really well, keep them watered until frost and hope for the best. Grasses are so tough, I think your odds are good they'll return, especially if you have a mild winter that seem to have become the norm everywhere the last few years.

The Evergold Carex is one of my favorite plants. I use it as an edging in my shade garden. The place you describe should do fine for it as long as you keep it watered. If your hostas and astilbe make it there, my money's on the sedge too. It's particularly lovely with Frances Williams hosta. Pretty with halcyon too. I also have a sedge called Silk Tassels that is even finer textured than Evergold. It has a silvery blue haze to it. Watch for it. It's a great plant.

Also, there's a sedge called "Sparkler" which is a gorgeous plant. It has a different form. It kind of comes up about 8 inches or so on a stalk and then cascades out (just like sparklers). The leaves are a gorgeous green with a striking white variegation.

I have found Sedges somewhat difficult to divide, but they are doable. You need to lift the entire clump and then use a serrated knife to cut cleanly through the divisions. They're tough, so don't be shy. Then give them extra water until they recover. They don't grow rally fast, but once they get established, you'll have enough to divide in a couple of years or so. They are beautiful evergreen "bones" in pots here in the south. They'll do well with morning sun if watered well.

My M. 'Morning Light' is well over 5 ft--maybe over 6 feet in bloom-- and easily 8 feet across, maybe more (it's 6:30 A.M., still dark, and I'm guessing).

The grasses you mentioned with the exception of Carex are tolerant of drier soil once established (as are most perennial grasses). I have 'Hameln' it a hot, dry-ish location in blazing all-day southern exposure full sun, and it never misses a beat, I just supplementally water about once a month. That's the beauty of ornamental grasses - plant 'em and leave 'em.

I have a couple cultivars of Carex (sedge), but don't know the names off hand. They actually do very well for me in average to somewhat dry soil, but all are in partial shade. I've heard they prefer moister soil, but they do great for me where I have them, so hey. Could be the cultivars I have, though, are more tolerant of less-moist soil, not really sure.

My opinion is to not try to plant ornamental grasses (in zone 5) in the fall. I sell them at the nursery, but always tell the customer there's a good chance they won't make it. They take longer to root, and usually die during our cold winters.

The hameln DOES need more water than most of my other ornamental grasses, unfortunately. They do great with black eyed susans and joe pye weed.