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Japanese Forest Grass

Hakonechloa macra (hah-koh-no-KLO-uh MAK-ruh)

Family: Poaecae Unknown Herbaceous

'Samurai' is an ornamental grass that makes a statement in a woodland garden with its graceful arching clumps and creamy white and green variegated leaves. Works well as a container plant. It grows best in moist, humus-rich soils in partial shade. The foliage should be cut down before the new growth begins in the spring. More information on Hakonechloa macra .

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 27 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 4 - Herbaceous
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Fills a similar niche Acanthus mollis Begonia cleopatrae x Heucherella

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Ornamental Grasses and Sedges
Life cycle
Perennial
USDA zones
6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay
Soil drainage
Moist
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Arching; Cascading; Clumping
Leaf color
Cream/Tan; Gold/Yellow; Green; Red/Burgundy
Leaf shape
Linear
Leaf value
Showy
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Cream white and green variegated leaves.
Flower color
Green
Flower value
Good Dried; Showy
Fruit type
Caryopsis
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Unknown
Food & Medicine
Fruit type
Caryopsis
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Container; Woodland
Landscape theme
Asian Garden
Design feature
Accent; Border; Mass Planting; Specimen
Garden tags
#showy leaves #flower arrangements #dried arrangements #Asian garden #interesting leaves #arching #clumping

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.