Little Zebra dwarf zebra grass

Miscanthus sinensus 'Little Zebra'

Miscanthus ‘Little Zebra’ on 60% of ET0 in September 2014. Photo: SK Reid.

Summary

‘Little Zebra’ is a variegated dwarf cultivar of silver grass that attained a height of 3’ 7” (163.2 cm) and 5’ 4” (104.9 cm) wide in two years. We found the variegation unreliable; it was faint on some of the specimens and on some it faded out over the course of the growing season. About 25% of the plants on all treatments were adversely affected by Miscanthus mealybug which was evidenced beginning in the establishment year. The pest causes reddening of the stems in the mildest cases and in the worst cases it stunts growth and reduces flowering. We cut the grasses back to several inches high in February 2014, and removed all the dead and as many of the infested stems as possible. When the grass is pest-free it is quite handsome in leaf, form, and flowering. With or without the mealybug infested plants factored in, there were no significant differences in growth between treatments, since all treatments were about equally infested.  Irrigation did make a difference in plant quality, however, with the highest ratings in all quality categories on the 60% treatment, with the 40% of ETo also yielding excellent ratings.

Miscanthus ‘Little Zebra’ showing the reddish stems indicative of mealybug infestation. Photo: SK Reid.

Growth and Quality Data

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Miscanthus ‘Little Zebra’ in April 2014. Photo: SK Reid.

Miscanthus ‘Little Zebra’ on 20% of ET0 in July 2014. Photo: SK Reid.