Variegated Basket Grass 'Variegatus'

Bought a 4" pot of this last year because it reminded me of a skinny version of variegated wandering jew - which can be a great houseplan...Read Moret if the light is right. As a houseplant, it far exceeded our expectations, hanging down a foot-and-a-half and producing new growth to fill its up-potted 6 inch container.

Winters here in N. Washington can be dark, so it was challenged and many of the underlying leaves died, leaving just an overlay of healthy branches. In early spring we tried, unsuccessfully, to root cuttings and to get the old - root bound root ball to revive without success.

Happily, these reappeared at one of my garden centers in Issaquah, WA. We will re-establish one as a hanging houseplant and try another outdoors in a planter. I'll try to do a simple division of that in the fall. If that fails, just hope more stock is available next spring. We'll be more circumspect about removing dead leaves during the coming winter.

We never did have flowers or seeds from ours. It was a thirsty plant that would "sag" when dry and positively glow when it was refreshed. I'd recommend it as an unusual project plant if you are fortunate enough to find one.

I have been buying this lovely plant (Variegated Basket Grass) for years, in small pots, from a family owned nursery (Sprainbrook) here i...Read Moren Westchester County NY. This nursery, focused on organic gardening, grew the plant in its own greenhouses and is now forced to go out of business, after 68 years. Like many avid gardeners, I have made friends at local garden centers and this one was special to me. So sad to hear this news- and what of the beloved Variegated Basket Grass that graces my containers year after year? I have not seen it elsewhere locally. It spills delightfully over the sides of containers, is especially beautiful in hanging pots- graceful and airy, sporting tones of green, white and burgundy even in partial shade. It can grown many feet long and remains lush along its full length IF not allowed to dry out. I highly recommend this plant and will be looking for a new source. Tender, NOT invasive in my experience. I was able to winter over a bit of it in my home.

I am a professional grower in southern North Carolina, zone 7. I obtained a stock plant of this grass last year and have propagated it f...Read Moreor baskets. The stockplant has bloomed and seeds have NOT sprouted up in my greenhouse. I have noted that the plant will produce green shoots occasionally that I remove from the baskets.

Most new cultivars are 'sports' or mutations of the parent plant that are cultivated to new varieties and yes, they will revert if not attended. The sport should assume any bad habits the original plant had and I see nothing to support the negative comment from the lady in MD. The fact that it is colder in winter up there, then here, also leads me to believe that the invasive grass is another grass altogether.

I lost my original stock plant to the cold we experienced this past winter...in my greenhouse. When I asked my supplier/grower about its requirments to winter it over he said they had to keep in the hottest part of their greenhouses in winter or they have lost their plants too. Sort of posses a question on it's invasive ability in areas colder then zone 8, doesn't it.

There's now some evidence that this plant can revert to the highly invasive form, which is as invasive as they come. Please don't buy th...Read Moreis plant, and if you have it, seal it up well and send it to the landfill. (The infestations in Maryland seem to have spread from a landfill, so don't just toss the hanging basket.) Its seeds stick to clothing, fur, tires, shoes, etc. For more info search for "wavy-leaved basket grass."