Hi Kent, saw your post on the cutting Maiden grass thread. My Miscanthus Gracillimus is starting to bloom now, but it's very late this year. It's still not quite yet in full bloom and some of the fronds are starting to yellow around the edges. So it's not really a great year for them.

I've got pictures from 2006 and 2008 and they show the Gracillimus and Variegatus starting to bloom in early October. I suspect that the cool and rainy weather from early June-late July set back these plants. The heat-loving annuals and veggies also suffered this summer.

This is from last year on October 4th -

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In my old zone 5 garden Miscanthus sinensis 'Gracillimus' & closely related M.s. 'Morning Light' were always the last grasses to bloom AND .. many years, if we got a cool/cold period in September they never did bloom.
I actually quite like the shape of both these grasses before they bloom.
Maybe next year ....

I think I may have figured out what might have happened. Last fall, and before I knew better :), I cut back the grass to the ground in winter. I thought it was like other perennials that one might cut back to the ground late fall/early winter. Maybe I cut off future blooms?
So, this year I won't cut back at all. In spring I will only cut back to about 10 inches and see if this helps with blooming in the fall next year. If not, then maybe I'll need to divide already.

"Maybe I cut off future blooms?"

Nope. The above ground plant material is dead after the plant goes dormant. It has nothing to do with future blooms. It's best to cut it back to a few inches in early spring.

if you want a Miscanthus that blooms reliably, every year, in your zone - buy another cultivar. Look for ones with an earlier bloom time - there are a number of them out there.

I love the look of my gracillimus, I just was pondering why it didn't bloom yet. It's so wispy and graceful. It looks beautiful when the wind blows through it. It can stay and oh well, if I don't get any blooms, there's always next year.