Why is my cabaret grass loosing it's white stripe that runs down middle of blade? This "color loss" is showing on expanding growth only one side of plant. These blades seem to be darker than those with white stripe. It's been at same location 8-10 years.

Answer #1 · Maple Tree's Answer · Hi Doris-Most variegated plants are propagated from another variegated plant but unfortunately this propagation in many cases is hard to stabilize and a plant may revert back to its original green form with new growth or shoots. This is most likely not the case. Being that your Cabaret Miscanthus Grass is older and well established the reverting of the variegated leaves back to green is most likely due to some change in temperatures, amount of sunlight, or too little or too much water. Chlorophyll in a plant is what makes the leaves green. In order for a plant to produce the chlorophyll it needs to stay healthy it requires the right environment for that particular plant. Chlorophyll takes the energy from the sun and turns it into food to help the plants grow larger and stronger. If a part of your plant is not getting the amount of direct sunlight each day it requires to stay healthy it will revert back to a more all green state helping itself to maintain its health. Unusually hot or cold temperatures can cause loss of variegation helping the plant to produce more green growth needed for its survival. Chlorophyll also protects the plant from hot sun damage and from losing too much water, transpiration, to hot temperatures. Too much water or drought conditions can also stress a plant causing loss of variegation and the production of green growth for a better chance of survival. With the age of these plants and the fact that they are losing variegation all of a sudden this year I'm thinking this is most likely due to unusually high temperatures, too little or too much water, and or too little direct sunlight. Let me know if you feel any of these factors may be the reason for their loss of variegation. This may just be the plants way of surviving during some stress from one of these factors.

Is this Miscanthus grass cut back each year before spring? Is this new growth this year and if so did the new growth appear right away without much variegation or is this mature growth that has lost its white stripping? Has this grass been fertilized this year? Once established this grass requires very little feeding to stay healthy. Is the plant near a lawn or area that some fertilization may have leached into this location? Sometimes over fertilization can force new growth that will appear more green with little variegation. With only one side of this clump of grass losing its variegation I'm wondering if something in this area has changed.

John)