african feather grass

[Jayburd]

where would I be able to find a fairly mature african feather grass plant, and approximately how much would it cost?
I was reading Mr. P's article on grasses for finches in Volume 17 issue 3 of Australian Birdkeeper, and there was a picture of a massive looking grass in a corner, looked fabulous I can imagine a lo of pictorellas coming out of that!!! It was labelled "african feather grass" but there were a few others in the pic so not sure if it's the right one
thanks ;)
jay

[E Orix]

I Googled it and It is a declared noxtious weed
I will now need to do some more research and find a decent picture as it may be on of the grasses I use.

[Jayburd]

thanks orix

[Diane]

Other grasses would work for you,
Purple fountain grass, Pennisetum setaceum Rubrum 1 mtr x 1mtr frost tolerant. Ive had emblema nest in this.
Swamp foxtail, Pennisetum alopecuroides 1mtr x 1mtr full sun or part shade
If you want flowers
Butterfly Bush Gaura linheineri 1.2 x 1mtr pink or white flowers on long stems, tendency to sprout up in other places, just cut it down to just above ground level
I havent had the Gaura in an aviary but the local birds seem to like it.
These plants are ok in SA dont know about Canberra.

[natamambo]

Yep, it's a declared weed now. It used to be thought that it was a native but now the native one is believed to be almost extinct and the common one is the African one.

[Mickp]

Some plant nurseries still sell feather grass, a small plant for approx $10, it is fast growing though.
Have also seen the same plant being sold as swamp grass at other nurseries.
Have this in my aviaries and the plumheads love nesting in it.
luckily they are very tolerant of the other birds as they all love stripping the seed heads.
Purple fountain grass is a great plant for the birds to nest in, my plants are around 1.5 to 1.8m in height, double bars & rfpf's use these for nesting sites.
Seed heads on the purple aren't much good though as they are advertised as being infertile(or whatever the proper word is).
Juvenile birds do enjoy stripping them though.

[Tiaris]

Stout Bamboo Grass (Austrostipa ramosissima) is a really resilient native aviary grass which may be available through some native plant nurseries. It has an upright shape with weeping very fine foliage and open fine seed heads which finches love to pick at but the seed must be very tiny. Very hardy & drought tolerant not requiring regular watering like most grasses. Doesn't like to be pruned too hard though. May be a useful option if you can't find your 1st choice,

[GregH]

Looks like Ausrtostipa is a winner for you Jay - it even grows in Canberra see the ANBG IBIS data base.