This tough plant adds color and texture, but it can become invasive.
If you’re looking for an easy-to-maintain plant, try variegated ribbon grass.
It needs little care while adding color and texture wherever you plant it.
Credit: Perry L. Struse
Plus, it grows incredibly fast, making it a top choice for filling empty garden space.
Variegated ribbon grass is hardy in USDA zones 4-9 and adapts to most growing conditions.
However, it can become overly aggressive, so plant where you could keep it contained.
Credit: Perry L. Struse
The foliage adds movement to a garden as it gently sways in the breeze.
Since this grass seldom blooms, it’s most commonly grown for its foliage.
If it does bloom, the flowers are insignificant, forming light and wiry panicles.
Credit: David Speer
Select an area in partial shade with regular garden soil enriched with compost.
The plant can tolerate full sun, but in hot areas, the leaves may scorch.
Variegated ribbon grass is invasive in many states, particularly in the Midwest and northwestern United States.
Credit: Dean Schoeppner
Check with your local agricultural extension before adding it to your garden.
Use a shovel or trowel to loosen the soil in the hole.
Remove the plant from its container and loosen the roots using your hands.
Put the plant in the hole.
Gather the leaf tips in one hand so they aren’t buried as you backfill the hole.
Press the soil with your hands and water the plant.
Temperature and Humidity
Variegated ribbon grass is not particular about humidity.
Fertilizer
When variegated ribbon grass is planted in regular garden soil, it needs no fertilizer.
Pruning
Cut back the plant in early summer to about 6 inches to encourage robust fall growth.
Remove damaged leaves at any time of year.
Use containers with good drainage and filled with regular garden soil that has been amended with compost.
Repot in the same or a different container annually, refreshing the soil/compost mix.
Pests and Problems
Variegated ribbon grass is practically pest-free and disease-free.
Cut the clump in half using a trowel or spade and carefully pull the two sections apart.
Replant them immediately and water well.
Tall varieties look especially appropriate among shrubs, which in turn provide support.
Add black-eyed Susans to wildflower meadows or native plant gardens for a natural look.
Average soil is sufficient, but it should be able to hold moisture fairly well.
The falls may be bearded" or not.
A number of cultivars bloom a second time in late summer.
Some species prefer alkaline soil, while others prefer acidic soil.
Variegated ribbon grass spreads by rhizomes.
The speed at which it spreads depends on the growing conditions, but it averages 412 inches a year.
The better the growing conditions, the faster the rhizomes spread.
