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 am guessing that the Variegated Reed grass you are referring to is Calamagrostis 'Overdam' or 'Avalanche'. The Phalaris (ribbon grass) spreads underground. Pull up some of the outside leaves and see how they connect to the parent. If you can't pull them up because they are too close, then its probably the nicely behaved Calamagrostis. If you can tell its a traveller, then you have the very poorly behaved ribbon grass. Also, I think that ribbon grass is more white than green and the Calamagrostis 'Overdam' is more green than white. Phalaris started blooming awhile ago and the tips of the leaves are often pink. The blooms of Calamagrostis are just starting to push their way up out of the foliage. Go to Google Images for a easy way to find pictures of both.

Calamagrostis x acutiflora cultivars; 'Karl Foerster,' 'Avalanche,' 'Overdam,' 'Eldorado,' etc.. are mostly sterile, and when they aren't, the seeds don't come true to the parent. Calamagrostis brachytricha (Korean Feather Reed Grass) can be grown from seed, but is not as upright and architectural as C.x acutiflora cultivars.

I've been pulling what's left of my hair out over this one spot at my parent's house... There hasn't been anything planted there for years. They're selling the house so they'd like to finally put something there. It's an east facing wall at the north end of the house. It receives some morning light, but only a few hours. We're in zone 6a-b and we often have drought conditions in summer. I wanted to do Feather Reed Grass. The most shade tolerant is the Korean Feather Reed (Brachytricha). But it only gets 2 feet tall without plumes and then 4' with plumes. I need something taller to reach the windows! So I wondered if Karl Foerster might work as I've read it can tolerate some shade. But will this be too much shade for it? Maybe I need to drop Feather Reed Grass altogether. Any other suggestions for tall grasses or perennials would be very very helpful!