Adagio Maiden Grass

‘Adagio’ is a compact selection of maiden grass, forming an upright-to-arching mound of narrow gray-green leaves. Rosy-pink tassel-like plumes rise above the foliage in summer and turn creamy as they mature; the leaves develop orange and yellow tones in autumn. ## Size and use The Royal Horticultural Society gives a mature range of 1–1.5 m high and 0.5–1 m wide, consistent with this record’s compact 4–5 ft height and 3–4 ft spread labels. The Morton Arboretum describes it as about 4 ft tall in foliage and 5 ft in flower, with burgundy tones in fall and cold hardiness to USDA zone 5. Use it as a specimen, in a sunny border, or where a smaller grass can provide movement without the scale of taller maiden-grass cultivars. ## Growing conditions Plant in full sun and moderately fertile, moist but well-drained soil. It tolerates several soil textures, but protect it from persistently wet winter conditions. Allow for mature width rather than crowding it among neighboring plants. ## Maintenance Keep the winter foliage for structure, then remove dead stems in spring before new growth starts. Divide the clump in spring only if it becomes too large or declines in the center; newly divided plants may establish slowly. [RHS ‘Adagio’ profile](https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/116018/miscanthus-sinensis-adagio/details), [Morton Arboretum cultivar notes](https://mortonarb.org/plant-and-protect/trees-and-plants/chinese-silver-grass/), [University of Illinois Extension](https://web.extension.illinois.edu/hortanswers/plantdetail.cfm?PlantID=612&PlantTypeID=3).