I have seen hakone grass at pikes on holcomb bridge, not sure what variety it is though...good luck, you may also want to try hastings in brookhaven, they have a good selection of things....Harriet

I've seen 5 and 10 gallon mature Hakone grasses at local nurseries, but they are rare and expensive. You might ask a local nursery if they can special order them for you.

Grasses for shade include Hakonechloa macra aureola and other Hakone grasses, Chasmanthium latifolium, and to some extent, Calamagrostis brachytricha. That said, it is very difficult to grow anything under a maple because the fibrous root system sucks up all nutrients and water. I once was able to get Liriope spicata (not L. muscari) established under a silver maple. I suggest your father try that.

Ed, thank you! The younger trees are all very small, and not as well "placed" since squirrels are not the best landscape architects or forest planners. I have a handful of each that I think might do really well over time. But, there is always a risk of messing it up. Will keep an eye out for invasives or "bad trees and plants". In my area, the worst offenders are pear, mimosa, princess tree. For native plants, poison ivy, violets, and poke weed seem to love my yard. There are tons of beech in the Appalachian foothills. They are all "on fire" now. However, the beech are only in these "recovering forests." Once developed (aka land being clear cut and bulldozed (I never see the beech. I rarely see beech in nurseries, but found 2 this year (at 2" caliper) so I bought them. I also dug up 2 beech from a development site and they took hold in my yard as well! Hickories are interesting trees. When they are a foot tall, their taproot may already be upwards of three feet long! Some of the nurseries are developing longer planting containers to pot hickories, but not sure if "Average Joe" is going to want to rent an auger to dig such a deep hole.