We have long admired the clumping Japanese hakone grass, Hakonechloa macra, but struggled to make them happy in our heat and humidity. We could get them to barely survive, but never look as lovely as they do in cooler climates.

Unfortunately, there are very few plants with the texture, form, and shade tolerance of hakone grass, so choosing a good substitute isn’t really an option. We continued to try each newly introduced cultivar, but none thrived, until the arrival of Hakonechloa macra ‘SunFlare’. We first acquired this selection in 2017, and have been over the moon thrilled with its performance since that time. The photo below was taken this spring of our oldest six-year-old clump. Hardiness is Zone 5a-7b.