Does Hakonechloa stay green in the winter?

Hakonechloa macra, also known as Japanese mountain grass, Japanese forest grass, or sometimes as Hakone grass, is a beautiful ornamental grass native to the mountainous regions of Japan. With its elegant, trailing growth habit, dense clump, and narrow leaves, Hakonechloa adds ornamental value to your garden. The gracefully trailing foliage also looks very attractive in a pot or container. The leaves are bright green in color.

The popular cultivars Hakonechloa ‘Aureola’ and ‘Allgold’ have golden-yellow foliage. The best location for Japanese mountain grass is in the shade. Full sun is poorly tolerated, especially by the yellow-leaved cultivars.

We often see claims that Hakonechloa is evergreen, but is this actually true? In other words:

Is Hakonechloa evergreen?

Hakonechloa does not remain green in the winter. This ornamental grass is therefore not evergreen, but deciduous. However, the leaves do remain on the plant for a long time during the winter. In the fall, the leaves turn golden yellow, yellow-orange, or yellow-pink. Thanks to this beautiful fall color, Japanese mountain grass retains its ornamental value even in the fall. Eventually, the leaves turn pale or brown in winter, dry out, and the above-ground parts of the plant will disappear. Later in the spring, fresh new leaves will sprout again.

Hakonechloa is not evergreen, but it still offers ornamental value well into winter, thanks to its fall foliage color and winter silhouette.

New Leaves in the Spring

In the spring, Hakonechloa sprouts anew. It usually does so a little later than many other ornamental grasses, though.

Hakonechloa macra is a fairly slow-growing plant, so it may take some time before it forms a nice, large clump. This is especially true for the variegated varieties. The final height is around 40–60 cm, and the ornamental grass spreads to about 80 cm wide. However, older plants can grow somewhat larger under the right conditions.

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