Fountain grass is a group of warm-season, clumping grasses with graceful forms and early plumes. Foliage is fine-textured and green, with the leaves 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide and up to 30 or so inches long. The form is dense, upright, and mounded, growing from 1 to 3 feet tall and wide, and a little taller while in bloom. Fountain grass tend to bloom before Miscanthus and Panicums, usually by mid-July. Flowers are fox-tail-like and plump, and range in colors from white, cream, pinks, to nearly black. Flowers tend to shatter, but foliage persists into winter.
Fountain grass are very adaptable, growing in just about any soil as long as it is well drained and in full sun. They perform the best when they are in fertile, loamy soils and receive regular watering. As with other grasses, cut them back in late winter, see the Guides for details. A very tidy grass, well suited to more formal sites and shrub borders, but it also holds its own in raucous perennial borders, providing a valuable bridge between blooming seasons and into the winter months.