PlantFiles: Ornamental Grass
Phalaris arundinacea 'Picta'

Lexington, KY; zone 6a

I picked this up last summer at a huge discount from a big-box home improvement store; it wasn't labeled but I liked the looks of it. I put it in a spot where it gets afternoon sunlight only and watered whenever it looked a little wilty, which wasn't all that often considering it was newly planted. I didn't even know whether it was a perennial or annual grass, but it came back nicely this spring.

On a recent trip back to ye old big-box home improvement store I saw they had this grass in stock again, so now I can ID it.

My experience is that if given enough water to keep it from wilting, but no more, it may not be too invasive. Mine has grown a lot this spring, but has not taken over anything despite a couple weekends of heavy rain (2.5" and 7") as well as the more usual amounts, plus the soaker hose watering I've done twice. Time will tell.

The Minnesota DNR has Reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea) listed on it's invasive species list.
"Ecological Threat:

* Reed canary is a major threat to natural wetlands. It out competes most native species.
* It presents a major challenge in wetland mitigation efforts.
* It forms large, single-species stands, with which other species cannot compete.
* If cut during the growing season a second growth spurt occurs in the fall.
* Invasion is associated with disturbances, such as ditch building, stream channeling sedimentation and intentional planting.
* This Eurasian species has been planted throughout the U.S. since the 1800s for forage and erosion control. It is still being planted."