Apparently, it's been renamed to Anemanthele lessoniana, and according to Darke, it can be divided in spring.

It divides very easily IME and early spring is a good time to attempt such a task. And yes, it has been reclassified to Anemanthele lessoniana and is perhaps my favorite OG.

I have noticed a couple of volunteer babies near one of my older ones. So it apparently reseeds a little bit? I don't find it to be long-lived though.

It is a very nice grass, number 2 on my list of favorites.

And good job pointing out the new name!

Wonderful news that this plant can be divided! I have been a huge fan of the ornamental grasses for 20-25 years, growing many different kinds over the years, and couldn't imagine any grass that could dethrone Pennesetum alopecuroides from its throne as my #1 favorite grass. But this one has. So I've wanted to replace some of my Pennesetum's with this one, and I was absolutely despairing at the prospect of digging up my huge clumps of Pennesetum and replacing them with miniscule plants from 2" - 4" pots (which is all I've found available). It'll be a couple of years before they make much of a visual impact. So....If I can indeed divide my lovely Anemanthele (ah, the new name is so much harder to remember!), then I can enjoy an immediate visual impact, as the divisions will be generous in size.

Thanks for the good news!

Jan

RE: anemanthele lessoniana...has anyone else had difficulty in wintering over this lovely plant? I live on the coast, doesn't get too cold in the winter, but I have lost my plants each winter except one in five years. Any suggestions?? Guess I will buy yet another one, and bring it in the garage this winter!

I'd consider improper drainage before hardiness issues - in inland Western WA, this grass is tough as nails. As with many plants originating from New Zealand, winter wet is the culprit for failure over winter in our area rather than cold.

Just to report that today my "immense" Anemanthele lessoniana has been divided into four large subdivisions. It was an easy job to dig this grass out of the ground (in contrast with many of the deeper rooting grasses such as Miscanthus and Pennesetum), but really really tough to divide it as it has a very thick, almost woody interior. We used a coarse-toothed pruning saw to cut through this part; in contrast, the root area beneath this woody part was very easy to divide.

I did not cut the grass back, so I guess I'll soon see whether it can tolerate this sort of treatment.....

Would this grass work out well in a small area. For example in front of a lattice type fence 10 feet by 4 feet or would it be invasive? Next to a lawn and a deck.

It does seed about some, but I find only a few seedlings every year, most of them welcome, but if not, easily recognized and easily pulled.