This year’s summer has been ideal for Miscanthus growth. Since harvest in March/April it has had the right levels of sun and rain, which has led to some 3+ meter high crop! The weather is also responsible for the high number of Miscanthus flowers that we are beginning to see fluttering above the green canopy of crop.
The emergence of the flowers is significant as it means that the plant has completed its full natural growing cycle, once it has flowered senescence will be triggered and translocation of reserves down below ground back into the rhizome. Over the coming winter the months the leaf will fall on to the ground leaving just the cane standing and providing a good layer of mulch.
Some seasons do not contain the right balance of sun and rain for the Miscanthus to complete it growing cycle (it won’t flower) and the plant is forced into senescence by the change in temperature and most significantly frost. If however there are very few frosts or they occur late in the season as happened last year then the Miscanthus does not have time to translocate its reserves to the rhizome. The knock on effect this has on harvest is green cane, which then needs longer on the floor to dry out than when senescence has been triggered naturally and been completed.
So these flowers that are starting to appear and will continue to do so over the next few weeks are not just a thing of beauty, but also a sign of a potentially great harvest to come.
