GrowingHQ
Ornamentalornamental grassStraightforward

Japanese forest grass

Hakonechloa macra

The one ornamental grass that genuinely wants shade, and it is worth the catalogue's whole grass section on its own: a slowly spreading mound of arching leaves that flows over the edge of a path or a pot like water, colouring gold or bronze in autumn.

Position
Dappled shade or Partial shade or Full shade
Water
moderate demand
Drainage
Moisture-retentive
Grows to
35–50 cm × 40–80 cm
Hardiness
H6
Flowers
August and September
Difficulty
Straightforward

August

In flower

Japanese forest grass’s year

Resolved for United Kingdom (general). Every window is stored against a climate event rather than a date, so a late frost pocket runs later than the band shows. What else August calls for.

ActivityJFMAMJJASOND
PlantApril. May.
In flowerAugust. September.
PruneMarch.
DivideApril. May.

Timing that travels

The band above resolves this plant's windows into months for one region. These are the windows themselves, stored against a climate event rather than a date — which is the form that survives being carried to a colder garden, a frost pocket, or next year.

Conditions it needs

Light
Dappled shade, Partial shade, Full shade
Frost
Very hardy
Hardiness rating
H6 (RHS)
Grows best at
10–24 °C
Soil
Loam, Peat-free compost
Soil pH
5.5–7
Drainage
Moisture-retentive
Water needs
moderate
Drought
poor tolerance
Waterlogging
moderate tolerance
Heat
poor tolerance
Wind and exposure
poor tolerance
Where these figures come from
LightSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Hakonechloa — position

Checked 2026-08-13

FrostSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Hakonechloa — hardiness

Checked 2026-08-13

Hardiness ratingSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: RHS hardiness ratings

Checked 2026-08-13

Grows best atSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Hakonechloa — temperature

Checked 2026-08-13

SoilSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Hakonechloa — soil

Checked 2026-08-13

Soil pHSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Plant Finder — Missouri Botanical Garden: Hakonechloa macra — culture

Checked 2026-08-13

DrainageSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Hakonechloa — soil

Checked 2026-08-13

Water needsHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

DroughtHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

WaterloggingHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

HeatHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Wind and exposureHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

On your soil

Computed by comparing this plant's recorded requirements against each soil's recorded characteristics. A recorded horticultural fact overrides the comparison where GrowingHQ holds one.

SoilVerdictWhy
Heavy clayGrows well hereJapanese forest grass grows perfectly well on heavy clay without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.
SandyWorks, with one conditionJapanese forest grass will crop on sandy, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It has little drought tolerance and this soil dries out fast — it will check and bolt in the first dry spell without watering.Water and mulch will carry it through. On this soil the watering is not optional in a dry spell, which is the difference between a crop and a failure.
Chalky and alkalineStruggles hereJapanese forest grass struggles on chalky and alkaline: The soil is substantially too alkaline for it: it wants pH 5.5 to 7, and this soil sits around 7.8 to 8.5. It has little drought tolerance and this soil dries out fast — it will check and bolt in the first dry spell without watering. A container or a raised bed of imported soil sidesteps the problem entirely.
LoamPrefers this soilLoam suits Japanese forest grass as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 5.5 to 7, and this soil is in that range. Loam is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering.
SiltyGrows well hereJapanese forest grass grows perfectly well on silty without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.
Peaty and acidGrows well hereJapanese forest grass grows perfectly well on peaty and acid without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.
Shallow over rockWorks, with one conditionJapanese forest grass will crop on shallow over rock, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It has little drought tolerance and this soil dries out fast — it will check and bolt in the first dry spell without watering.Water and mulch will carry it through. On this soil the watering is not optional in a dry spell, which is the difference between a crop and a failure.
Made ground and urban soilGrows well hereJapanese forest grass grows perfectly well on made ground and urban soil without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.

Not sure which you have? Four hand tests will settle it.

Space and spacing

Mature height
35–50 cm
Mature spread
40–80 cm
Rooting depth
30 cm
Spacing
40–50 cm apart
Where these figures come from
Mature heightHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Mature spreadHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Rooting depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

SpacingSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Hakonechloa — spacing

Checked 2026-08-13

How far apart to plant japanese forest grassThree japanese forest grass plants drawn in a row at their recorded spacing of 40–50 cm between plants. The spacing is drawn to scale against a one metre rule; the plants themselves are symbols rather than scale drawings, so the distance between them is the part to read.40–50 cmone metre
Measured centre to centre. Plants set closer than this compete for light and water long before they look crowded, and the crowding cannot be undone once they are in.

In a container

Minimum volume
10 litres or more
Minimum depth
25 cm
Where the container figures come from
Minimum volumeHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Hakonechloa macra — cultivation

Checked 2026-08-13

Minimum depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Hakonechloa macra — cultivation

Checked 2026-08-13

Very well suited to a pot and arguably the best way to grow it, because the cascading habit only reads properly when the plant is raised — in a border it disappears among its neighbours. Loam-based compost, part shade, and do not let it dry out in summer. It is deciduous, so the pot is bare from late autumn until spring; cut the old foliage down in late winter before the new growth appears.

Habit and ultimate size

What the plant becomes, rather than what it is when you buy it. The gap between the two is where most planting mistakes live.

Grass and sedge stems comparedTwo stem cross-sections side by side. On the left, a grass stem: a circle with a hollow centre, drawn with a swollen node and leaves arranged in two ranks on opposite sides. On the right, a sedge stem: a solid triangle with no hollow centre, with leaves arranged in three ranks, one from each face. Beneath each, the practical consequence — a deciduous grass is cut to the ground in late winter and regrows; an evergreen sedge is combed through by hand and must not be cut down.Grass (Poaceae)hollowRound stem, hollow centreLeaves in 2 ranksUsually deciduousCut to 10 cm in late winter.It regrows completely.Sedge (Cyperaceae)Triangular stem, solidLeaves in 3 ranksUsually evergreenComb the dead leaves out.Shearing it disfigures it for years.
The stem section is the reliable test in any season. What follows from it is how the plant is cut back, which is where getting it wrong actually costs something.
Foliage
Deciduous
In a container
Good in a container long-term
Where these figures come from
FoliageSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Hakonechloa macra — foliage

Checked 2026-08-13

In a containerHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Where and how you can grow it

Each way of growing is assessed separately, and “not assessed” is a real answer rather than a gap we have filled in with a guess.

MethodSuitabilityWhat it needs
Open groundWell suited
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability

Checked 2026-08-13

Traditional dug bedWell suited
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability

Checked 2026-08-13

Raised bedWell suited
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability

Checked 2026-08-13

ContainerWell suited
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability

Checked 2026-08-13

Growing it

  • PlantingGive it shade and consistent moisture. In sun the leaves scorch at the tips and the colour bleaches, and on dry ground the clump never builds — it is a woodland-edge plant and behaves like one. The gold-leaved forms take a little more light than the plain green.
  • PruningCut the dead foliage down in early spring before the new shoots move. It is deciduous, so unlike the evergreen sedges it can be sheared without harm.
Where this guidance comes from
PlantingSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Hakonechloa macra — position

Checked 2026-08-13

PruningSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Hakonechloa — care

Checked 2026-08-13

Where to make a pruning cutFour stems compared. The first is cut cleanly on a slope about five millimetres above an outward-facing bud, sloping away from it, and is labelled correct. The second is cut too far above the bud, leaving a long stub that dies back. The third is cut too close, into the bud itself, which loses the shoot. The fourth is cut sloping towards the bud so rain runs onto it rather than away, which rots it. In every case the bud points outwards, away from the centre of the plant.Correct5 mm, sloping awayToo highstub dies backToo closebud lostSloping inrain sits on the bud
The bud you cut to becomes the new shoot, and it grows in the direction it points — which is why an outward-facing bud opens the plant up and an inward-facing one crosses the middle.

Sources for this page

GrowingHQ editorial synthesis · Plant Finder · Royal Horticultural Society

Each figure on this page carries its own citation, under the “where these figures come from” note in its section. Record last reviewed 2026-08-14.