The ornamental grass that used to be unpopular began to be favored in Zhongshan five years ago. There are presently about 200 ornamental grass growers in Zhongshan, and ornamental grass cultivation accounts for 15-20% of seedling cultivation, with a rapid growth.

Ornamental grass has gradually come into public view, among which muhlenbergia capillaris is a typical representative. "About four years ago, there were designers in the Pearl River Delta using muhlenbergia capillaris in landscape design. At that time, muhlenbergia capillaris was mainly planted in the Yangtze River Delta. We had to purchase it ourselves after we took over the gardening project with a great cost on freight," said Chen Bin, director of the Yixing Ornamental Grass Base in Banfu, Zhongshan.

In order to slash costs, Yixing Garden Company, which has been running traditional seedling varieties in Henglan for three years, began experimenting large-scale ornamental grass cultivation. This 200-mu site just opened this year, with 120 mu of muhlenbergia capillaris and 70 mu of Ppennisetum alopecuroides been grown, according to Chen.

"By growing our own plants on a large scale, we have not only ensured the supply of ornamental grass, but also reduced freight costs by 30 percent. The Base is presently making millions of yuan a year," said Chen Bin. As more and more landscape designers begin to attach importance to ornamental grass, Yixing Ornamental Grass Base's products are sold to many places such as Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.