Need a pic or a very good description.

pics didn't attach, huh. I'll have another go

Are the dark green portions of the 'blades' round? It looks a lot like Juncus, a rush (and I think I can distinguish the tell-tale seedheads of a juncus in a couple of the photos). Juncus effusus, soft rush, is a common native species that pops up all over in moist soils. It's not really an aggressive spreader (clumps do increase in size by rhizome spread) but it does self seed freely.

You do have some other weed grass in the mix as well. Those flatter and paler colored blades in front are not the same plant and could very well have infiltrated the entire planting. They will need to be removed. And although juncus is evergreen in our climate, the older blades will eventually die off or discolor. You can cut it back hard in early spring to rejuvenate.

Probably 'Carman's Gray'.

More likely to be just a species wildling rather than a named form.

Thanks, as always. Should I cut back hard now then? Divide plant and then cut back after its in the ground? Or Cut it back before I divide?

It might be easier to divide if you cut back first. And I wouldn't cut back too hard - just remove the dried/brown portions, which seem to be limited to the top portions. Any fully brown/dried blades you can either remove by hand (they should break off) or snip off at the base. And be sure to thoroughly remove all the weed grasses at the same time.

I'd throw it all out. The grass might be Miscanthus, but the rootball is infested with the wire grass called Juncus which is a weed as far as I'm concerned. Here, it grows in very wet places with poor drainage. Just my opinion, that's all.

Gardengal, do you ever sell any of it, or is it even for sale in your nursery?

There's a big patch of it in a pasture near here where I sometimes see kids looking for hallucinogenic mushrooms. The two are associated in that they like the same conditions....or so I've heard. :-)

Mike, I think it's the other way around - the juncus is infested with some other weed grass.....doubt it is miscanthus, though.

Juncus are not true grasses but rushes. Wire grass is a common name typically assigned to a couple of other genera. Being a native (and to much of the temperate world) it is considered a desirable species for seasonally wet or even boggy soils. Highly recommended for rain gardens in this area as well so yes, it is sold by nurseries. Also adds an attractive and evergreen vertical accent for container plantings. A twisted or contorted form is also available under the names 'Spiralis' or 'Big Twister' as well as one that is variegated with lemon yellow splotches.

'Elk Blue' and 'Carman's Gray' are selections of Juncus patens, which looks and behaves very similarly.

It's only a weed if YOU consider it one :-))

Has the coloring and habit of 'Carman's Gray'. Including the creeping growth. I had it by my front walk for years.

Still a weed to me. Must be the farmer in me. I see it as a sign of poor drainage in a pasture, thus a weed. As far as putting it in a landscape I don't see that it has enough merits to do so. No blooms, Fall color, .....and even the green is dull. Too many better choices. Ron, what reasons did you have for putting it by your front walk? Did you have trouble with grass invading it? Did you trim it?

Where do stand on clover, Mike? Weed or no?

Depends where it is. For some reason I don't have very much clover. When I had a large lawn a small leaved clover would grow at the edge causing me to edge the lawn more frequently than I would have if it hadn't been there. I'm not a weed free lawn person, but I do like nice edges. My lawn is about the size of an average living room now and it's down by the edge of a pond.

I don't mind clover either. It works in my living room sized lawn too.

It takes me way longer to mow the center strip in my gravel driveway than it does to mow my lawn. It's about 3/8s of a mile long on my property and another 1/4 mile just getting here. Thank goodness I don't have to mow it all.

It's not a woodland plant. It likes open sunny wet areas. The county considers it a wetland indicator plant.

The other one is a cultivated form and is sold commercially. Both like the same conditions, wet and sunny.

My opinion is that they are both weeds. I guess I should change my opinion. It might take a awhile. My preconceived attitude overrides what few merits it has.

Mike, I completely respect that opinion :-) I have similar feelings about a number of common plants folks include in their garden - like Lunaria annua (honesty, money plant), dame's rocket, rose campion or red valerian. I know any number of people that plant them intentionally but I consider them weeds!! (btw, I have never intentionally planted the Juncus either, except as part of a rain garden)

How boring it would be if we all shared the same tastes in plants :-)

LOL All five you mentioned are weeds to me too. So is California Poppy, Eschscholzia. The chrome orange it has clashes with everything! and I have a few other orange blooming plants that don't clash with their surroundings

Long live the difference! :-)