Miscanthus Sinensis Red Chief
Miscanthus sinensis red chief, relatively new introduction of an ornamental grass which I think will soon become very popular
in our garden
Most of us, when we first get into gardening, usually find its all about eye catching blooms.
Well, ornamental grasses can also be very eye catching, in – perhaps a more subtle manner.
Take Miscanthus sinensis red chief, well I think it is looking just great in our back garden planted just in front of an apple tree.
This position was suggested by Myra,so that’s where I planted it in mid Summer. Now at the end of October I have no hesitation in repeating myself in saying it really is looking terrific.
Being placed in such a position, extra care had to be taken in making sure the new plant did not dry out.
plant description
Miscanthus Sinensis Red Chief is a perennial grass, and in its first year in our garden it has grown to a height of a little more than 1mtr tall, the label suggests it can grow a bit taller reaching 1.5 mtrs about 5ft.
The flowering plumes/seed-heads start to show off in August with an eye catching shade of, well – not exactly red, maybe, claret, burgundy, rust, I don’t know, more or less the colour which the picture shows above.
As you can see, the red seed heads mature to feathery plumes which are a shade of cream. It looks very interesting, as the red flowers develop into the cream shade, new ones continue to be produced giving a mix of both red and cream.
This plant is fully hardy in the UK.
Pruning — Hanging on to its plumes, Red Chief gives a good show in Winter, in early Spring. cut back the old stems individually so as not to damage the new shoots which are being produced.
position — best results achieved when planted in full sun. Not too fussy regarding soil type as long as its reasonably free draining.
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Having moved to Cheshire almost a year ago, we felt it was about time we had a look at the nearby City of Chester.
An American poll placed Chester in the top five of Europe’s prettiest City’s.
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In early July we had a day trip to Chester and was pleasantly surprised at the vibrancy and charm of the old world feel to the city.
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In Aberdeen we lived by the River Dee where there was an ancient bridge, not unlike the one above in Chester. Chester is only about thirty miles from where we live now, and the river of which this bridge spans is also named (the Dee)
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Weather was just perfect for a riverside stroll.
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Must book a trip on the ferry next time.
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The wall and fortress which surrounds the City, was at first a wooden structure built by the Romans 2000 years ago. In 100 AD the Romans rebuilt part of the wall and fortress using stone. In Roman times the town of Chester was known as (Deva)
The stone structure survived long after the Romans left around 400AD. In the early 900s the Saxons made good use of the Roman walls as a defence against Viking raids. (the Saxons named the town Chester)
In 1066 the Normans invaded the country and between 1120 and 1350AD repaired, strengthened and completed the walls surrounding Chester.
In the 18th century the walls were made into a walkway surrounding the city and have been well maintained to this day.
History of the City of Chester
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The Roman gardens in Chester were set out in the 1950s, displaying Roman artefacts excavated from the area in the 19th century.
Roman gardens
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© 2014 – 2018, Alistair. All rights reserved.
Lovely post, Alistair, and so nice to have an update on your garden and activities! Please give our best to Myra. We have left our lovely garden in Massachusetts to begin a new adventure in California. Starting out with a tiny deck garden until we can find the home of our dreams.
Good to hear from you both. It must have been quite a wrench to leave Massachusetts, I look forward to hearing from you when settled in your forever home.
Chester looks positively charming….as does your grass.
Grasses are an important feature of my garden, Alistair. Miscanthus tends to be invasive here, so we have to be careful in our choice. Loved the tour of Chester — a typical English town — made me homesick. P. x
Pam, in spite of my early embracing of our new surroundings, I must admit, I do get a sense of longing for home from time to time.
Thanks for presenting yet another lovely plant I would love to have in my garden, if I could just have found a suitable space for it. Maybe my next garden!
Great to see photos from Chester, I can understand why it is polled as one of the prettiest cities.
Take care, Helene.
Helene, (maybe my next garden) intriguing!
A really lovely miscanthus Alistair. Have you found good places to buy plants nearby? You must be relatively close to Sue Beeseley’s nursery? Chester is a fabulous city, nice to be so close.
Very near to an amazing nursery Janet, (Grasslands) Must do a search for Sue Beeseley.
Hello Alistair, I’ve seen red grasses appearing in garden centres and now supermarkets (the pricier ones) so their popularity seems to be taking off. After having seen the red and cream plumes of your “Red Chief”, I can see why.
Cant go wrong with a few grasses in a mixed border Sunil.
I see another new theme here Alistair. I like it and I love this grass. I have not seen it here yet in the US. And I can see why Chester was named one of the top five of Europe’s prettiest City’s.
Donna
I spend more time fiddling about with my site than I do blogging.
Glad you and Myra had such a nice day out in Chester, it is a beautiful city, you are just a few miles further from Chester than I am to Stornoway which is my nearest shopping centre, moving to an island made me realise how close I used to be to everything, Frances
We were thinking the same about living in a country village Frances. Has its good points but definitely not so convenient, especially when before too long my eyesight is going to prevent me from driving.
sorry to hear about your eye sight Alistair, mine isn’t what it once was, I’ve an appointment with the optician Wednesday, when my car broke down 10 years ago, it was going to cost a lot to repair as parts were needed from the mainland, I decided as I was not using it much I would not get it repaired but get rid of it, I was having difficulty with running costs too on my low income, I am lucky as there is a fairly good bus service in the area of the island I live in, it is one of the more populated areas made up of several villages with a mixed age group, we are currently trying to stop the closure of the 11 – 14 school as the children would have to go the 25 miles to Stornoway if it closes, I say lucky as it was not something I had considered when buying the house, if I was still on Scalpay, Harris 37 miles from Stornoway and a very limited bus service I would have struggled to keep my car going, do you have many shops near you and are there any supermarkets that would deliver a phoned or online order? we have nothing like that here but my brother has done it for our mother sometimes, good job your daughter is near you, Frances
We are not bad for convenience stores Frances, I have been ordering online for a few months now. Its that macular degeneration thing which I have, seems to have remained pretty stable the last couple of years, kind of like viewing the world whilst looking through cellophane paper, not rose tinted though. Yes, it probably is just as well we are living close to Audra.
What an enjoyable stroll through the City of Chester! I can see why we Americans like it so much. Thanks also for a brief history. Miscanthus sinensis Red Chief is lovely, and its color complements your fence so well. I also caught a glimpse of a large urn I like very much. You have accomplished a lot in your garden in a short year!
I have two different varieties of Miscanthus and love them both. One has reddish plumes not unlike your ‘Red Chief’. I think I have been to Chester a long time ago now. What a nice city it looks to be in your pictures. The Roman history of the city is really interesting. The wall certainly seems to have been built so well that it has stood the charge of any invaders and still stands.
Hi Jennifer, That part of the wall does look extremely strong, of course it has been rebuilt to a great extent.
glorious half-timbered buildings in Chester! And a ferry for me ;~)
Good to hear that Myra and Purdee are settling in.
Your garden will soon be as wonderful as the Aberdeen one, ringing some changes.
Thanks Diana, regarding earlier reference to blotanical, shame but perhaps it had its day, must remove the links.
I really like your city tour of Chester. It really is a wonderful town, so pedestrian friendly with very pretty architecture. As for the Miscanthus, I do think the larger grasses really hold their own in a garden and draw a lot of attention to themselves. I very much enjoy them for the late season punch.
As it happens I’ve decided to add some grasses to my garden next year. I have some kind of Miscanthus growing up around the paddock and I have a pampas grass in the actual garden but other than that I didn’t reall know what to look for. I’m loving the red one you have posted about so I’m going to get hold of some of it and see how it adapts here. I also have another kind of deciduous grass but I haven’t a clue what it is. It’s died down just now but I think i’ll have to get a photo next year and ID it – it’s variegated, about 4ft tall and is terribly invasive (infact I have a 8″ form of a similar looking one).
Thanks for the post, it’s really got my creative juices flowing
Linda, I can only name a grass if its one that I bought and kept the label. I also have a variegated form like you describe, and it sets out runners, hard to keep under control.
What a pretty grass! I’ve been seeing more grasses with red streaks in them. I bought a couple with red streaks this year for my mailbox garden, though I don’t think they were Miscanthus. The town of Chester is beautiful and so charming! What a great story it has. When I’ve visited the U.K. in the past, I’ve been so impressed upon by the sense of history. The U.S. is still so relatively new.
I love Chester … my son lives there. The grass has been added to my ever increasing wish list!
Alistair, thank you not only for the grass portrait, but for the city pictures too! I don’t know if Europeans realize how fortunate they are to live in the Old World! Several miles – and you surrounded by ancient walls!