I must say I'm surprised. I've never tried 'Adagio' but I've been completely unsuccessful at getting 'Zebrinus' to germinate. I've tried them from multiple trade sources, and used a variety of techniques, and have never gotten a single sprout. I know 'Gracillimus' can be grown from seed, and has a high rate of growing true to the parent, but I would have bet my bottom dollar that the other two wouldn't. It's additionally surprising in that you are in the bottom of their advertised hardiness range, although some sources cite zone 4 for 'Gracillimus.'

If you actually have true-to-parent 'Zebrinus' and more importantly 'Adagio,' you should consider documenting the fact with your state university's ag extension. You should also notify Kurt Bluemel about 'Adagio.' I'm sure he'd be interested in hearing about it.

hi donn...thanks for the reply....

I'm guessing their final name based on my observations of the plants this year...some of the seedlings developed some banding when it got hot, just like Zebrinus...I bought the original plants at Lowes three years ago in quite small pots, the banded ones were marked "Strictus" but I have since learned that they are "Zebrinus"...the original plants took one year to bloom and two years to get to full size..this is their 4th summer....

the "adagio" I am guessing at for this year because the seedlings are only 1' tall and have a more rounded droop shape... the other seedlings are app. 3' tall this summer and are a more upright vase-shape, like "Gracillimus' and "Zebrinus"...all of the seedlings are the width of about 6-10 stalks....

I'll take some pictures and document their growth and habit this year and next...can we post pics here or do we need to host them somewhere else and post a link?

Mark...you need to store copies of the pics at a photo server like photobucket.com, and then you can post the pic here with the HTML tags they provide.

'Adagio' should also have much finer foliage than other Miscanthus varieties. The seedlings may be less developed in size because they germinated later.

I'd be fascinated to see the pics, and the follow-up data on their growth and development. As far as I can tell, there are only a few folks paying close attention to ornamental grasses and their vagaries, and I think that needs to be increased, so we can learn more about them. New cultivars are found, trialed, propagated and introduced from exactly this kind of curiosity.

Donn..I took a few quick rudimentary photos this morning and just put them in a folder on my Yahoo photo page (Grass Seedlings)..so you can take a look...I use a 30" monitor, so if the pics are too small to see very well on a regular monitor, let me know...it has been very dry here this summer, and I've been going through chemo, so please excuse me that my beds are a bit unkempt...LOL

I may need to retract my statement about the banded seedlings...of the three banded plants I bought, that were labeled "Strictus", two of them turned out to be "Zebrinus", so I do have one "Strictus"...I called the seedlings "Zebrinus" based on their form, but I won't know for sure until they mature more, but I don't believe they are "Strictus" at this point...

Here is a link that might be useful: Grass Seedlings

Donn,
I have quite a few Miscanthus volunteer seedlings in my zone 5 garden in the past few years. Our summers are getting a bit hotter AND the autumns are definitely getting a lot longer. This gives the plants more time to mature and ripen the seed which in turn gives us more seedlings. I actually have some decent sized plants growing along the side of our 'hard topped' road in the gravel.

Miscanthus s. Gracillimus is definitely reliably hardy for both zone 5 and zone 4 gardens /BUT - it doesn't alway bloom for us up here in the north. This is seeming more like a desireable trait when speaking of volunteer seedlings.

I have found that the volunteers are often far more vigorous than the cultivars and can easily overtake them if they sow into a clump.

imark,
the only reliable way to propagate a cultivar is by division. So ... calling your grass a Gracillimus or Zebrinus seedling is a much safer way to go rather than saying that it is a replica of the cultivar (too much sex involved in seed production). as a matter of fact your 'Strictus' in the photos looks very much like a cross between Zebrinus and Strictus. My Strictus has absolutely no droop in the upper leaves - it is totally stiff.

If you are worried about the grasses self-sowing and causing a problem maybe you should look for those that bloom later rather than earlier. I can think of a lot less desirable looking weeds :o)

A.

Correcting myself on the above post. According to Rick Darke's Book and I quote
"Contrary to popular misconception, cultivars are not, by definition, comprised of genetically identiacal plants (clones)." ...
"Some seed-produced cultivars are maintained by selecting seedling that meet the descriptive criteria of the cultivar and rejecting uncharacteristic seelings." For example Miscanthus s. 'Gracillimus'
Others such as 'Goldfeder', using Darke's example are "best referred to a clonal cultivars ... (which) must be vegetatively propagated if new plants are to retain all distinguishing characteristics.."

So ... .
I guess I was about 50% right and 50% wrong.
Interesting never-the-less :o)
A.

This subject, for me, is one of the most fascinating aspects of ornamental grasses. Many new-release named cultivars are created by 'selecting' seedlings with unusual characteristics, trialing them by growing them out for 3 years or more, and then using vegetative propagation techniques to reproduce them.

I've grown lots of grasses from seed, and have always grown clumps, sowing several seeds together. I've noticed with some, especially Blue Fescue, that some individual plants in the clump are more blue, finer leaved, stiffer leaved, etc.. Next year, I'll start experimenting with growing seedlings from individual seeds, to see if I can select for characteristics I'm looking for. It will be more tedious and time-consuming than growing clumps, but I'll wager it yields some interesting results.

Thanks for your input, mates...I haven't really ever thought about the sex lives of ornamental grasses...I don't even know if the different types of Miscanthus can cross-pollinate, and if not, are most of the cultivars a result of mutation, selection of different sports...I'll have to give it all a go see...as is, I think I'll select some, or all, of what I'm getting and plant them in a plot next spring and observe what they do...thanks again....Mark

All Miscanthus varieties are self-infertile. They can't produce seed unless crossed with another Miscanthus plant with somewhat dissimilar genetic background. The only way to produce plants true to the parent is vegetative. In the spring, dig out the plant and literally rip it apart into smaller sections. Each part - as long as it has sufficient roots and at least one strong shoot, will regenerate a new plant.
It's very unlikely for Miscanthus to even produce viable seeds in Southern Ontario. In fact, all the giganteus strains produced from crossing M. sinensis and sacchariflorus (often mis-labelled as M. floridulus) are triploid and thus totally sterile.