A dear friend of mine in Savannah got a box of dead hakone grass, thanks to UPS's stupidity. The place she bought it said they're all out for the season. I told her that everyone at GW is wonderful and I'd see if anyone has some to trade. I will be glad to send you anything from my trade list~or ask me about specific plants because I have a lot of things that aren't listed. Thanks! Ginny

Hi. I have 2 Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' plants, one of which is 7-8 years old,and the other one around 4 y.o. They are in different parts of the garden but do not receive much sun. They have never been mulched but received compost and a mix of kelp, bone meal and leaf mold sprinkled on top when planted. Initially, they were watered daily but after that only as needed during hot spells. One thing the grower told me was not to use spray near the grasses or other plants. People experience a lot of casualties from too concentrated applications of ferti- lizer as well. I know a lot of people have had problems keeping these grasses alive, and there may be other reasons why they don't survive. Overall, the golden culti- vars seem to be more fragile than the green varieties.

Wendy, your H. 'albo-striata' IS more upright than 'Aureola' before the arching begins. Now that I see your plant the difference is actually quite considerable. When I Googled...the two looked almost identical except for coloration. Yours also appears to be taller. I'll be back in a minute...I'm going out to measure... OK, I stuck the measure stick directly through the foliage to the ground. EXACTLY 12" tall. We planted 18-20" on center & the hedge's foliage is completely filled-in although the roots remain about a foot apart. Last fall, about 1/3 of my plants bloomed for the first time. The inflorescences were buff-colored & only about 6-8" above the foliage. I wouldn't call the inflorescences striking but they were a nice fall accent to the hedge. It also remains attractive all winter since we only get 12" of snow or more once every few years. Some prices at our garden centers were down this year compared to '06; but, alas...not h. "Aureola'. /T

I LOVE Hakonechloa. I've had three different varieties, all in pots. It's very attractive, and relatively tough. One of its few drawbacks is that the cats LOVE to chew on it!