House near me has a mass planting of Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster' that is looking particularly striking at this time of year, with tall, upright, fluffy topped statements of a bronzy tan.

I got 7 Karl Foerster at Lowes a few weeks ago. They were very dried out but still had a few green leaves they were in gallon pots. I asked if they could be marked down as they were pretty dried out and they said sure !! I got them for $2 a piece ! They look wonderful now and are quite healthy. I look forward to them being on my new slope area.

@gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) can you take a pic of the planting near you. I would love to see how they massed them Thank you. c

I'll try to remember the next time I am out and about that way :-)

I have at least 2 dz ornamental grasses. Probably more. I never counted. Yes, they are lovely, but they do come with some work depending on where you plant them. Ours are planted inbetween other shrubs. You have to either cut them down in the fall or tie them up. I tie mine up, it gives some winter texture to the landscape. I found the best way to tie them up with is 2 rows of duct tape about a foot apart. Wrap the tape 3 times or it will break over the winter. I use an old belt that has hole the whole length and pull as tight as I can, then wrap around the tape and then release the belt. You have to wear long sleeves, pants and gloves when working with them or they will leave little cuts on your skin. Glasses also. They are also very tough to dig up once established. To cut them down we use a good gas hedge trimmers. Now my daughter has hers planted standing alone. She just burns them where they stand in the spring. Much easier. I didn't get around to it this year, but I want to transfer some of my zebra grass up to camp next year. But it is definitely going to be stand alone so I can just take a match to it.

@functionthenlook I have a very large number of lots of different kinds and sizes as well. I got a great suggestion from a Master Gardener the other day on managing the larger grasses. She said what she does is wait til just before the flowers start to come up and cut the grasses back by about 1/.2 their height. The will then bloom but the overall bulk as well as the risk of flop is greatly lessened, I am going to give it a try this next year. I am transplanting a lot of my grasses to the slope and will be able to let them alone a bit more than the location they are now in.

@gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) thank you c

Trailrunner, TY sounds like it would work, but I want the height and bulk. The shrubs and grasses form a thick natural fence from neighbors.