I grow it in the mountains and have no problems. I noticed it prefers moist soils and some afternoon shade according to some sites. It flowers very early in the season. Perhaps it will not do well in times of drought. Here is a link that might be useful: Calamagrostis Karl Foerster

Strawberries and Cream is the least invasive of the ribbon grasses. It is still a strong rhizome spreader, but don't rule it out in a contained area. It is not that difficult to manage if bordered, and certainly can be a great container plant. Of the grasses mentioned, I would not grow the Imperata cylindrica 'Red Baron' in your area. In NC, it is a class A noxious weed. Its green reversions can become extremely aggressive. In the red form, it is not so bad, but has been known to revert, particularly if the source is from Tissue Cultured production. United States: cogongrass Noxious weed Alabama: cogongrass Class A noxious weed California: cogongrass Quarantine Florida: cogongrass Noxious weed Hawaii: cogon Noxious weed Minnesota: cogongrass Prohibited noxious weed Mississippi: cogongrass Noxious weed North Carolina: cogongrass Class A noxious weed Oregon: cogongrass Quarantine1 South Carolina: cogongrass Plant pest Vermont: cogongrass Class A noxious weed I would say the same about Imperata as Phalaris...grow it where it is bordered. If it reverts to all green, dig it up and dispose of it.

I do not have the grass in question. I think I read something that KF was not that good a choice for our summers in Central Texas, but nothing about the winters. This winter here should not have fazed it since it is cold hardy WAY UP NORTH but maybe the dryness did. I am west of Austin and I think that cold is not what is slowing your KF but the lack of rain that we had this winter and into the spring. Many things needed that late slug of moisture that we have finally gotten to kick start spring growth. My long established Muhlenbergia dumosa, who was bitten by the cold to the ground was very late in showing itself. That is a much less cold tolerant grass , and a desert grass to boot, and it still needed that slug of water to jump start it. I think it is a grass that grows in the moist canyons of the Chihuahua desert. They do have them. OOPS, I am getting off topic. Maybe your grasses did not get their roots established enough to deal with the drought. The other problem with our winter was that we had a very wet November and then followed with an extreme drop off to 16F (where I was ) when the ground was still damp. Maybe the roots rotted and then the drought hit and they had nothing to drink deeply with. I find that this often happens with some of my Xeric plants.Cold + damp is a rotter, especially if you are in clay or another non draining soil. We had NO rain here after that November event till April.

In your zone, I think it would do better in full sun.