In the spring I planted some Pink Muhly from seed. It grew well and, by the start of summer, I had one foot tall plumes of green stems in gallon pots. Nice. But in mid-summer (this is months of 100+F), all the stems turned brown. I thought they were reasonably well watered, but .... looks like they died. I set the plants aside, hoping they'd resprout. I was shocked to look at them a couple months later to see that the brown stems were TWICE AS LONG. They grew! They weren't dead! When I bend one of the brown stems, it doesn't break. It isn't dry.

Now I read that Pink Muhly turns brown at the end of the season, and or in heat stress. It sure did that. I assumed that meant the foliage died, and it would regrow in the spring from the roots. But that seems not to be the case. So I'm left wondering. The plumes on Pink Muhly are supposed to develop a pink tinge in the fall. I don't think this pink tinge is a bloom. The stems just change color. So when does that happen? Does that happen when the stems are green, or after they turn brown? Can I assume these brown plumes are actually healthy and doing what they're supposed to be doing? I've read that the pink tinge happens in full sun, and these pots were moved to an area with no direct sun. The original idea was they they would be planted out to a full sun bed in the fall, when the temps were lower, and the ground was more moist. I appeal to Pink Muhly experts to set me straight. I'm totally new to this stuff.

I tried posting this question to another forum, but had no success. Maybe you all have some insight.