HELP!! Black Fountain Grass "Moudry"

I am horrified! A highly respected garden designer (who also recommended Abelia "Rose Creek" to go across the front of my house, which faces the Chesapeake Bay....and they all died the first winter) specifically recommended Pennisetum Aloepecuroides "Moudry" (39 of them) as ornamental grasses in my new landscape borders (installed fall of 2005). These plants anchor some of the corners and were envisioned to be dramatic individual plants. I have been ferociously pulling out grass sprouts in my new borders around these plants and wondering if they might possibly be seedlings from the Moudry plants (they were looking suspiciously familiar). I just went on the site and checked the plant and discovered that they reseed vigorously. I'm stricken. I suppose that I'll have to pull all of them out and plant something else. Does anyone have a recommendation (other than flattening the designer) of a plant similar in size and appearance which will not reseed itself? This is only my second experience with grasses: we had pampas grass in SC, but I don't recall any problems with that not behaving.

I have P. alopecuroides 'Hameln' and it does not reseed itself. You could also try P. setaceum 'Rubrum', but it's annual below zone 9.

This makes me so mad! I'm a horticulture student with an interest in design. That is the problem with it being an unregulated field, there are no certain credentials or licensing required to call yourself a designer. Did the designer offer any sort of warranty or guarantee? Can you pass the cost of replacing the plants on to them? What did they do about the Abelia? This is truly an awful thing that happened to you, I'm very sorry for your loss.

I'm also interested in your thread as I've planted about 10 of the black fountain grass clumps and will be watching them carefully.

Hi Connie! Did you see my thread in Garden Design? I thought you had 'Rubrum' ?

It may seem tedious, but it's pretty easy to cut off 'Moudry's' seedheads and their stalks, before the seed ripens. They look fantastic in arrangements, and last a long time when properly dried. The seeds don't ripen until quite late in the season. You won't really lose the winter interest, you'll just move it indoors.

Prairie...I have all sorts of orn. grasses now. I have about 10 types. I started with the P. Rubrum and then found 2 of the black fountain...then about 8 more on sale! I also have blood grass (and I've noticed some HUGE pure green blades coming out of the centers...bad!!), pink crystals, autumn (miscanthus s. purpuracens), zebra. 'Prairie Fire' carex, 'Karl Foerster' Feather Reed Grass, and probably others I can't think of right now. (The blood grass I have is the 'Red Baron' which is supposedly not invasive like the other type, but it sure is spreading fast, and it does NOT clump...the new blades are sometimes about 4 inches away from the orig. clump.

Make sure you wear heavy gloves when working around this grass - the mature leaves are like razors. I am going to attempt to dig mine out because as much as I love the look, it is taking over my lawn. Cant imagine having 39 of the big thugs to deal with.

I many end of culling many out later, but I had an ENTIRE yard to plant, and the grasses seemed to look good spaced out AND were cheaper than a lot of bushes that size. Also, I'm trying to do a "modern" look...at least partially, and the grasses look good for that also.

Sofi...thanks for the tip! I do wear gloves to protect the nails, but at times didn't when I didn't care about my manicure.
I'll wear them all the time after that tip! I hate "paper cuts."

And...about plants being "invasive" and spreading like crazy...
My grandmother used to say that no plants were truly invasive...God just didn't intend for people to place that kind in their yards! Some plants we need to multiply fast! When a plant would mulitply "like crazy" she just said they were making "babies" to be given to other people!!
If one is truly a gardener, he/she will be checking his plants almost daily, and can easily snip off the offending seed pod, baby plant, etc. So..when I planted blood grass and other things that I got chastized here on DG for, I just shut up and did my own thing! *smile*

I feel REALLY bad for you! I have a hillside covered with Moudry. :( Thankfully it is at my other house but I need to sell that! LOL I put it way up on the hill for erosion and to partially cover a chain link fence. Now there are trails of it down the yard. The mower and weed eater do not phase it! I guess I'll be digging it out when time allows.