What different types of ornamental grasses are there?
There are really too many to conveniently list, but this site will give you a good overview of the most popular:
https://urbanext.illinois.edu/grasses/types.cfm
How can I find out what ornamental grasses shoud be cut back and how much should they be cut back? I'm not sure of the names of the many grasses that I have, which is also making it more difficult. A book or Web page where I can see different grasses to confirm what I have and then how and when to cut them back would be great.
Most types of ornamental grass can be cut back in spring once new growth begins to emerge. Simply cut off the dead/old growth.
All were planted in summer and pruned in spring to 2 inches. Dwarf fountain grass grew beautifully but now there's only foliage on west 1/4 of plant. Elijah Blues also had good growth but very little growth on any plant now. Landscaper recommeded these plants for these locations. What should I do besides fertilizing and watering?
These articles may help:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/foliage/ornamental-grass/sensational-borders-with-ornamental-grass.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/foliage/fountain-grass/fountain-grass-pruning.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/foliage/fountain-grass/tips-for-care-of-fountain-grass.htm
Bought dwarf fountain grass 'Hameln'. Can I plant in a large urn? If so, what are requirements? I'm in Zone 5, in northern Indiana.
Yes, you can. It does well in containers. The growing requirements are the same as those planted in the ground, with exception to watering. They will require more watering, especially when temps are warmer.
Looking for information dealing with what and when to cut back the ornamental grass we planted in a berm a couple of years ago. We cut it as close to ground level as we could late last year. It took forever to come up this year and it is only growing around the outer diameter of the clump. Our neighbor has a similar type of plant and his looks outstanding. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
This article will help you with that: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/foliage/fountain-grass/fountain-grass-pruning.htm
You can treat with a fungicide, but often ornamental grasses recover from this problem on their own. Just make sure that you cut it back this fall and that you discard the infected foliage in the trash.
My neighbor wants me to remove the tops of my ornamental grasses to prevent the spread of seeds to his yard. I think the seed blooms are the nicest parts.
Some ornamental grasses can become invasive because of their seed plumes, while others do not. You would be best researching the specific type of grass you have to see if it is an invasive variety. Regardless, you do not need to remove the plumes as soon as they appear. They are the flowers of the grass, and just like your other flowers, the seeds don't develop right off the bat. They will be fully developed when the plume starts to brown and dry out and this is the time you have to cut them off to keep the seeds from spreading.