Ornamental grasses add an extra dimension to the garden as they whisper and wave in the breeze - all it takes is a gust of wind to bring the garden to life. They also bring life to the garden in the form of birds, butterflies, moths, and other wildlife. Grasses are also extremely low maintenance and it’s no wonder they’ve become so popular in recent years.
I would like to thank Random Harvest for letting me use their beautiful photographs of these grasses. Click here to visit their website.
Miscanthus capensis seeds. Picture courtesy Random Harvest NurseryDaba Grass, Ruigtegras, Umpumelelo ( Miscanthus capensis)
Miscanthus capensis is a very hardy, clump-forming evergreen grass of medium height that is commonly called "Daba Grass", "Ruigtegras", and "Umpumelelo". The clumps of bright green grassy leaves are about 1m tall, but in late summer and early autumn when the pale to reddish-brown flower spikes appear, topped with plumes of tall and elegant pinkish-coloured seed-heads, they can reach up to 2m in height.
Miscanthus capensis is extensively dispersed in South Africa growing wild in the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Western Cape. It can be found in bushveld, grasslands, and along forest margins and the banks of rivers and streams.
Miscanthus capensis is an integral part of our fynbos and one of the grasses of Table Mountain. It thrives in moist areas and is also a grass of the Drakensberg wetlands. In the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park (formerly Natal Drakensberg Park) it occurs at altitudes of 1 400 to 2 200m, on various types of loamy soils, favouring grasslands with temporary seasonal wetness, like floodplains, valley-heads, and foot-slope seepages.
The uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park was designated as a Ramsar site on 21 January 1997, and features 242,813ha of high altitude tarns, springs, bogs, marshes and streams. The area is located in eastern KwaZulu-Natal, along the border between KwaZulu-Natal and the Kingdom of Lesotho. These high altitude wetlands are amongst the most species-rich in South Africa and they house a number of rare plant species.
A Ramsar site, also known as "The Convention on Wetlands", is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, an intergovernmental environmental treaty established in February 1971 by UNESCO, in Ramsar, Iran, and came into force in December 1975. Ramsar identifies wetlands of international importance, especially those providing waterfowl habitat, and provides international cooperation regarding the conservation of these wetlands, and the sustainable use of their resources
Miscanthus junceus flower heads. Picture courtesy Random Harvest NurseryBroom Grass, Besemgras (Miscanthus junceus)
Miscanthus junceus is a tall, very fast growing and hardy evergreen grass with furry, grey, rush-like foliage in stiff upright clumps 1 to 1.5m high. It bears long elegant plumes of flower heads with tiny brown flowers from February to June.
It can be found in the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and North West Gauteng. It always occurs in or near water, on riverbanks or in vleis, and mostly in coarse sandy soils at 700 to 1 400m altitude. It is ideally suited to stabilising river banks and plays a role in water purification.
In the Okavango delta it is the most common grass in permanent water, and is also called "Okavanga Delta Grass". Also, in Mpumalanga, it is dominant in shallow-water vegetation. The species plays an important role in riverbank protection and water purification.
Uses:
The roots of Miscanthus junceus assists in filtering out pollutants and dirt, and can be used to purify water by running it through beds of this grass.
Miscanthus capensis is a coarse grass that is often used for thatching, and traditionally, the root decoction of the plant has been reported to treat pimples, wounds, eczema, and acne. Studies using root methanol extract have demonstrated that the plant extract shows strong antioxidant and non-genotoxic activities.
Miscanthus junceus in Patrick Watson landscape design. Picture courtesy Random Harvest NurseryIn the Garden:
Ornamental grasses add texture and an extra dimension to the garden as they whisper and wave in the breeze- all it takes is a gust of wind to bring the garden to life. They also bring life to the garden in the form of birds, butterflies, moths, and other wildlife. Weavers choose Miscanthus capensis grass above all other plants for their nesting material, weaving the leaves and then lining the nest with the seeds. Seed-eating birds in particular will flock to the garden in autumn when the grasses go to seed. Butterflies also need grasses as host plants for their larvae, and African moths like Acrapex albivena are also known to use Miscanthus capensis as a larval food plant.
Click here to see Google images of these African moths.
Click here to see Google images of weavers and their nests
Miscanthus is ideally suited to stabilising river banks, and perfect to plant on the edge, or even in a pond.
Grasses have become extremely popular in modern city gardens because, not only are they beautiful but also almost maintenance free. Use them as a backdrop to a garden bed or as a screening plant in narrow beds. Miscanthus is very effective planted as a single, sculptural, feature plant in a garden, and is just as striking if planted into large window boxes or other containers, where they can be used as a hardy and wind tolerant screen on a balcony or rooftop garden.
Miscanthus capensis. Picture courtesy Random Harvest NurseryCultivation/Propagation:
These grasses are hardy to cold and frost and are also very wind tolerant, plus they are easy to grow in damp or normal garden conditions, and will adapt to most garden soils. They love full sun but will take some light shade, and to keep them looking at their best in the garden, water moderately during long, dry spells. Fertilising can simply be applying a fresh layer of organic mulch around the roots occasionally. As with all grasses, to keep them healthy, cut them right back once a year and rake to remove the thatch. Mulch the soil and give the plant a thorough watering and in no time, fresh new leaves will shoot.
For planting up smaller areas plants can be purchased from indigenous nurseries, and for large areas seed can be sown directly into prepared beds in spring or autumn.
For the best germination results with seeds it is recommended that they are treated with Cape Seed Primer.
Problems, Pests & Diseases:
If they are happy where they are sited, these grasses suffer from no problems, pests and diseases.
Warning:
We found no toxic effects reported for Miscanthus species, for people, dogs, cats, horses or livestock.