How can you not immediately fall in love with a plant called “American beautyberry”? It just makes the heart swell. Here, take a Kleenex.The emotive lexicon is well deserved.This large, deciduous shru
06.06.2023 - 18:12 / gardenerspath.com / Gretchen Heber
How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Purple Fountain Grass Pennisetum x advena ‘Rubrum’With its deep purple leaves and long, colorful flower spikes, purple fountain grass is among the loveliest of the ornamental grasses.
Alas, its beauty is fleeting. Hardy in Zones 9 to 11, P. x advena ‘Rubrum’ is grown as an annual in most of the United States.
They were actually quite popular here in Austin, Zone 8b, for a few years, but I don’t see them much anymore – presumably because they couldn’t take our occasional chilly weather, and no one was particularly motivated to replace them.
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We’re not too fond of annuals in these parts. Too much trouble.
But for those who are in the right zones or who appreciate spectacular, glorious annuals, you couldn’t ask for a more statement-making addition to the landscape.
Put one in full sun, in a place that will accommodate its five feet of width and height, and you’ll be delighted by the colorful leaves and the showy plume heads that emerge in late summer or early fall in purple, pink, or copper and gently fade to tan.
Let’s learn more about this beauty!
You know how we like to sometimes get into the weeds (haha) about nomenclature. We’ll just let you know that you may also see this type of ornamental grass referred to as Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’.
However, very smart botanist-taxonomy people have decided that this plant is most likely a cross between P. setaceum and P. macrostachys, and as a hybrid, the name should be Pennisetum xadvena ‘Rubrum.’
Do you feel smarter?
Cultivation and HistoryOpen-pollinated fountain grass is native to open, scrubby habitats in South and East Africa,
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