If you have a small front yard

[shanti]

NEVER plant this Zebra grass:

or this Fountain grass:

I learned the hard way! I think my previous landscaper had it in for me when he planted them. They have basically EXPLODED so much that I can't see my house from the street!

I'm currently looking for a gardener to take them both out, and have heard that these plants have roots like iron and are quite difficult to remove completely.

[applegrove]

1. Zebra grass is my favourite. I so wish i had a garden so i could plant some.

Saw it at a rock garden park near where i grew up. Fell in love immediately.

[shanti]

8. Oh, I do love the look of them

but not in my postage-stamp front yard. They would be awesome in a big yard. It was supposed to be a basic xeriscaped yard, but didn't turn out that way!

[Bayard]

2. Hey, I'll take those off your hands!

They'd look great around my pond.

[Hoyt]

3. Had those once. Liked them a lot. When they got tall, we cut them down and started over.

Caveat -- I'm the type who will spray ant spray on plants to kill ants. It works because the plants die.

[WhiteTara]

4. These are non native invasives

and shouldn't be planted anywhere. Be sure and don't let the seed heads go. Cut it back to the ground and hack off parts of it as you can. Good luck!

[BigmanPigman]

7. They arw all around my apt and are weeds to me.

I can't kill them and have tried for 25 years.

[Doodley]

5. Can you mow them down with a lawnmower?

[shanti]

9. Nope

They're at least 6 feet tall. I don't have the strength to do it myself. You basically have to put a bungee cord around it and take a hedge trimmer to it from the bottom to trim it. Then, you have to dig and dig to get the vigorous roots out. I asked the gardener last year to take a chunk off and transplant it, hoping it would stunt its growth, which he did, but it didn't take. AND it grew back bigger. So it must go.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. Some grasses get very large and don't work well in small yards.

The ones that are toughest to get rid of are those that spread through runners because they'll take over. Miscanthus sinensis (silvergrass) is one of those, too - it's really cool looking but it's very aggressive and in some areas is considered an invasive species. http://www.invadingspecies.com/miscanthus/

[shanti]

10. Ah yes, pampas grass

I saw it a lot in SoCal, when I lived there. Really pretty, BUT invasive as you state. My gardener had to know that it would get that way. It wasn't the first thing I didn't like about his work (ethic). I told him what I liked, but these weren't one of them - he just planted them.