Hi asonnenshine, There was a similar question posted on the Natives Plants forum a few months ago by a fellow in Orange County. I'm on the East Coast so couldn't recommend any plants from experience, but a couple of people stressed the issue of fire safety in your state when selecting native plants. The Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County may be able to advise you on selecting native plants that will have the least amount of fire risk. Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County: http://www.rcdsantacruz.org/index.html They have a whole web page devoted to fire prevention in Santa Cruz County: http://www.rcdsantacruz.org/Resources/fireprevention.html The page above also has fact sheets on fire-resistant plants, as well as links to the local Fire Protection District Offices in your county. The Santa Cruz County Native Plant Society may also be of some help: http://www.cruzcnps.org/index.html Your local Fire Department may also be able to assist in selecting native plants that are fire-resistant.

i find domant season planting best. dec-april here in z4/5 what i have been doing for a few years; id a clump of any grass u wanna multiply and dig it up so that its seperated from the ground but still an intact root ball. then i mulch em in good to overwinter. in the early spring, do what is called 'sweating', u can see all the newly forming plantlets in a few days. just rip a few together and set them in the 2 and 1/2 by 3in seeding trays. i usually grow em out 1 year but u could plant them in a few weeks. i like to put in large plants. larger the better for grasses. u will be suprised how fast they grow to maturity. mostly 1st year. much faster than seed.

You will wish to divide when the plant is dormant any time from late fall through early spring. So go ahead you will not "harm" the plant.....

You might see if there are any wholesalers who can supply smaller tubes of the Purple fountain for landscapers - even if you ask a landscaper to buy them in - if you can get cheaper pots and sacrifice some plunes by giving a good haircut, you could try dividing the clumps & could probably produce 4 times the number for planting out. In terms of native grasses, I don;t know your area, I know I find a lot of roadside grasses in my area very pleasant even though some may be weeds. Do be careful though when I say "weeds" some species can be very invasive - Qld now has a problem with the other fountain grass. I found this site which can supply small trial quantities of seed and has some good sections of notes on grasses and their uses (no commercial interest) Here is a link that might be useful: native grass seed supplier