The Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass, otherwise known as the Miscanthus Sinensis ‘Little Miss’ or Wild Bergamot, American Wild Bergamot, Wild Bee Balm, is a somewhat well known perennial plant native to the Northeast, Rocky Mountains, Southeast, Pacific Northwest, and the Southwest of the United States.
Best known for its average maintenance and fast growth, this perennial will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its multicolored colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, this is exactly what we’ll cover in this Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass Care Guide. So let’s dive in.
In order to take proper care of your Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass you’ll need to keep in mind the following guidelines:
- Water: The Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass prefers occasional watering, but increase the frequency when potted.
- Light: Keep your Miscanthus Sinensis ‘Little Miss’ in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass in soil with well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
That’s it – sunlight, water and soil! The basic 3 fundamentals for all plant care, and with the Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass this is no exception. With these three elements, your leafy friend will live healthy and happy.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass belongs to the Lamiaceae family, the genus Monarda and the species Fistulosa, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Miscanthus Sinensis ‘Little Miss’ (mis-KAN-thus sin-EN-sis).
As with other Monarda’s, the Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass is a herbaceous plant, which means it will die back to the ground every year.
Growing Region
The Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass is a plant native to the Canada to North East Mexico. This is why the Miscanthus Sinensis ‘Little Miss’ is used to growing in specific regions such as the states in Northeast, Rocky Mountains, Southeast, Pacific Northwest, and the Southwest of the United States.
You might be wondering why your Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass’s native region is important. Well, if you know where your plant originally came from, you’ll know which environment conditions it prefers, and with it, knowledge on how to replicate it at home.
With this in mind, the Miscanthus Sinensis ‘Little Miss’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 1 – 9 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5b, 5a, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9b, 9a and the ideal climate zone is between 1, 1A, 1B, 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, A2, A3.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass is a relatively fast grower, which makes things tricky for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, how big does the Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass actually get? What should you expect in terms of size? Let’s dive right in…
The Miscanthus Sinensis ‘Little Miss’ can grow up to 2′ – 4′ (60cm – 120cm) in 2′ – 4′ (60cm – 120cm) and 2′ – 3′ (60cm – 90cm) in 2′ – 3′ (60cm – 90cm).
These dimensions make the Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass a relatively medium perennial compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful mounding shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 36″ (90cm) free so the Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat irregular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Miscanthus Sinensis ‘Little Miss’ prefers occasional watering, but increase the frequency when potted.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass in soil with well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage, moist, and occasionally dry properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
In our experience, the famous ‘thumb’ or ‘finger’ test is what works best for the Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass since with it, you will be able to give it the right amount of water, every time – regardless of the environment or placement where you do decide to keep it.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass prefers to have soil with good drainage, moist, and occasionally dry properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
This is why most experts agree that the Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass requires soil with clay, and shallow rocky, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this perennial will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Miscanthus Sinensis ‘Little Miss’ in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being a herbaceous plant, the Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass will die back to the ground every year.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the summer (mid, late), and during the fall.
Flowers
You can expect your Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass to flower around the summer months from July to September (summer).
In particular, this perennial is well known for its showy plumes around the plant enthusiast community.
The Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass produces some beautiful red, or pink and purple/lavender flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass have a beautiful multicolored color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a opposite organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Miscanthus Sinensis ‘Little Miss’ to be around (3-6 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass is well known for being able to attract butterflies, birds and hummingbirds, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Additionally, it has a special tolerance for rocky soil, dry soil, clay soil, drought and animals like rabbit and deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Miscanthus Sinensis ‘Little Miss’ will be fine.
Garden
How should you then organize your garden to include your new Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass? Here are some recommendations by expert gardeners.
Most Miscanthus Sinensis ‘Little Miss’ owners agree that this perennial will look great in most mediterranean, asian/zen contemporary, and rustic gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage, and in prairie and meadow styles.
In particular, the Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass’s best location within your garden is in beds and borders, others use it for landscaping in a mass planting, erosion control, coastal exposure, border, container, cutting garden, or a rock garden.
Companion Plants
Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Juniperus, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Potentilla will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
So that’s it! These are the main plant care requirements that you need to keep in mind in order to have a healthy Little Miss Dwarf Maiden Grass in your garden or home.
