Botanical Name: Pennisetum 'Rubrum'
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Common Name: Purple Fountain Grass  
Plant photo of: Pennisetum 'Rubrum'
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Water Saving Tip:

Replace turf with groundcovers, trees, and shrubs. If you have areas where no one uses the grass, patches that do not grow well, or a turf area too small to water without runoff, consider replacing the turf with water-efficient landscaping.

  • Anatomy

  • Culture

  • Design

Plant Type

Annual, Grass

 

Height Range

1-3'

 

Flower Color

Purple

 

Flower Season

Summer, Fall

 

Leaf Color

Bronze, Purple, Red

 

Bark Color

n/a

 

Fruit Color

n/a

 

Fruit Season

n/a

Information by: Stephanie Duer
Photographer: Linda Engstrom

  • Description

  • Notes

This is one annual that is very worth the effort of re-planting each spring. Purple fountain grass is a strikingly purply-red grass that grows in hot, miserable sites, even against buildings, or in pots surrounded by concrete. Its form is generally upward and arching, with even the plumes softly bending. The plumes emerge early summer and continue through the summer months and are tinged purple to buff. Color holds until a hard frost. Grows about 2 to 4 feet tall and wide.