Strawberries and Cream is the least invasive of the ribbon grasses. It is still a strong rhizome spreader, but don't rule it out in a contained area. It is not that difficult to manage if bordered, and certainly can be a great container plant. Of the grasses mentioned, I would not grow the Imperata cylindrica 'Red Baron' in your area. In NC, it is a class A noxious weed. Its green reversions can become extremely aggressive. In the red form, it is not so bad, but has been known to revert, particularly if the source is from Tissue Cultured production. United States: cogongrass Noxious weed Alabama: cogongrass Class A noxious weed California: cogongrass Quarantine Florida: cogongrass Noxious weed Hawaii: cogon Noxious weed Minnesota: cogongrass Prohibited noxious weed Mississippi: cogongrass Noxious weed North Carolina: cogongrass Class A noxious weed Oregon: cogongrass Quarantine1 South Carolina: cogongrass Plant pest Vermont: cogongrass Class A noxious weed I would say the same about Imperata as Phalaris...grow it where it is bordered. If it reverts to all green, dig it up and dispose of it.

One issue that needs to be brought forth - should service be required in, on or around the box you could loose the grasses that you planted. True this might not be an excessive investment but utility companies do have the rights to service their equipment. Any plants, hardscapes or buildings encroaching in the easement could be removed and not replaced at the discretion of the utility company. Like the others have stated you can dig a hole and drop in the grass and trim the turf with string trimmer or mower. You could remove sod, plant and mulch, which is what I would do. If there is room I would leave enough space for workers to service the box without having to cut back or down the grass when they do their work. Jake

Watch out...they can be addictive, and they will really hurt your winter-rested pruning muscles when you cut them all down.

It is certainly not recommended but if you don't care if the grass survives the winter and returns next spring, go ahead. Ornamental grasses come in both cool season and warm season varieties. Cool season grasses emerge very early in spring, grow rapidly and flower early. Warm season grasses are much slower to emerge, develop during the heat of summer and then flower in late summer to early fall. Pennisetums - and most other popular OG species - are warm season grasses. And they are not even recommended to be planted in fall, let alone divided. The reason for this is that once they start to flower in late summer, the roots begin to go dormant and stop growth. Without active root growth and development, cold and wet winter soils will generally result in the death of the plant. Division and planting of warm season OG's is advised to be done in spring to early summer. This is why warm season OG's are typically offered at a discount or sale prices late in the season. But if you don't care about winter survivability, feel free to go ahead and do what you want.