I like Pennisetum but yea they do fill in quickly. Were you able to relocate or re-home them?

That was the hardest part - I had no alternate place for them so the grassy tops went in the compost pile and the roots went into the green waste bin.

Pennisetum 'Hameln' has been my favorite grass for 30 years or more. It is smaller than the species which is why I prefer it over the species. It is very graceful in habit and it's blades have an especially attractive fine texture. But suddenly I t had become a shy bloomer for me the last couple of years which is why I decided to experiment. I bought both Desert Plains and Ginger Love sight unseen as mail order plants last year. Desert Plains is looking good, but I think it will prove to be as large as the species which is not ideal for my smallish property and my aged back. And now there is no doubt I made a mistake in opting to give Ginger Love a try and in the process also lost a year of growing time for something else. Now it remains to be seen if the New Zealand Wind Grass will be a satisfactory substitute for Hameln.

NZ wind grass (aka Pheasant's tail grass) is one of my favorites, both for the coloring it goes through during the year and the fact that it is evergreen. And with a somewhat finer textured, more delicate appearance. Produces a cloud of tiny reddish seedheads in late season. But be aware that it can self-seed like a son of a gun!!

btw, taxonomists have reclassified much of the genus Stipa and this is now known as Anemanthele lessoniana.

Gardengal, thanks for the reassuring support for my new grass. I've actually grown it before, but never had it sited ideally. It does self sow, you're right,, but I haven't found it to be unmanageable. Yet!

i know it's undergone a name change, but I'm finding it hard to make the changeover. My old brain doesn't seem to want to remember Anemanthele lessoniana even though ordinarily I've no trouble with Latin names. It's actually rather a pretty name for this beautiful grass and I really must make an effort to remember It!

The self seeding of this one is not nearly as bad as its cousin (?) Mexican hair grass, Stipa tenuissima (now Nassella tenuissima). That's just a weed in this area - if you plant one, you will have dozens the next year!!

I am a slightly reformed grassoholic. Meaning I have tried a lot of grasses over the years and, though I am still crazy about grasses, I have eliminated a lot of them as unsuitable for me or my garden. Stipa tenuissima is one that was quickly eliminated due to its rampant reseeding. Actually, I don't think it should be allowed to be sold!

Aha - I have just dug out an enormous anemanthele from the front of my horsebox in order to relocate it by the ditch with the gunnera. Although the diameter stayed around 30cm, the blades and flowers grew gigantic, completely smothering campanulas and sanguisorba, spreading out to a much larger 4foot spread. However, it remained relatively diaphanous and lightweight and would probably be much better with stiffer stemmed flowers such as the echies.

That is the problem with grasses, isn't it. They just keep growing like any perennial until they must be divided or discarded. And like some perennials they can be absolutely beastly to dig out and divide. and here's where it comes full circle with the topic- Pennisetum Ginger Love was showing me it was going to be ultra vigorous and I already know how beastly Pennisetums are to divide, so that is something I can no longer manage. I will hope Anementhele lessioniana will not be so vigorous.