Fountain Grass, Desert Plains Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Desert Plains' Plant Height: 3 feet Flower Height: 4 feet Spread: 4 feet
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Hardiness Zone: 4b Description: Fine textured bright green foliage changes to a golden tan in fall; blooms are large smokey-purple bottlebrush plumes that persist until winter; beautiful as an accent or massed in borders or rock garden Ornamental Features Fountain Grass, Desert Plains has masses of beautiful plumes of purple flowers with violet overtones rising above the foliage from mid to late summer, which are most effective when planted in groupings. The tan seed heads are carried on showy plumes displayed in abundance in mid fall. Its grassy leaves are green in color. As an added bonus, the foliage turns a gorgeous gold in the fall. Landscape Attributes Fountain Grass, Desert Plains is an herbaceous perennial grass with a shapely form and gracefully arching stems. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect. This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics. Fountain Grass, Desert Plains is recommended for the following landscape applications; Planting & Growing Fountain Grass, Desert Plains will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity extending to 4 feet tall with the flowers, with a spread of 4 feet. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen! This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. To help this plant achive its best flowering performance, periodically apply a flower-boosting fertilizer from early spring through into the active growing season. It is not particular as to soil type or pH, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation. Fountain Grass, Desert Plains is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
