Overview

Introduce a touch of elegance and vibrant color to your outdoor spaces with the purple fountain grass live plant. This captivating ornamental grass, scientifically known as Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’ or Pennisetum x advena ‘Rubrum’, is celebrated for its distinctive purplish-red flower spikes and rich burgundy leaves that sway gracefully in the breeze. As a fast-growing and relatively low-maintenance option, it’s an excellent choice for gardeners looking to create visual interest with minimal effort. Whether you’re designing sweeping masses, adding filler to perennial beds, or creating stunning container arrangements, this plant brings character and dynamic beauty to any setting. Its unique garnet color provides a striking contrast against deep greens, blues, and yellows, ensuring your garden stands out. This particular offering includes a well-rooted starter plant, typically 5-9 inches tall, ready to establish quickly in your garden. The purple fountain grass live plant is a versatile choice for various landscape designs.

Key Benefits

The purple fountain grass live plant offers numerous advantages that make it a favorite among landscape designers and home gardeners alike. Its aesthetic appeal is undeniable, but its practical benefits are equally impressive:

• Stunning Visual Appeal: The plant boasts striking burgundy foliage and arching, purplish-red flower plumes that provide continuous color and texture from early summer until the first frost. Its graceful form adds movement and softness to garden beds, making it a focal point.
• Easy to Grow: This ornamental grass is remarkably easy to care for, making it suitable for both experienced gardeners and beginners. It adapts well to various conditions, requiring minimal intervention once established, simplifying ornamental grass care.
• Drought Tolerant: Once mature, pennisetum setaceum rubrum exhibits good drought tolerance, reducing the need for frequent watering and making it an ideal choice for water-wise gardening.
• Versatile Landscaping: Perfect for use as a specimen plant, in mass plantings, as a border plant, or in containers and decorative urns. Its vibrant color makes it a focal point in any design, enhancing your garden’s aesthetic.
• Long Blooming Season: Enjoy its beautiful blooms and rich foliage color from June through to the first hard frost, providing extended seasonal interest. This makes the purple fountain grass live plant a fantastic choice for continuous garden display.
• Cold Weather Hardy: In suitable climates (USDA Zones 9 and above), it can be grown as a perennial, returning year after year. For colder zones, it thrives as a vigorous annual, offering flexibility.
• Low Maintenance: Requires minimal pruning, typically just cutting back in early spring if grown as a perennial, making ornamental grass care straightforward and hassle-free.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Caring for your purple fountain grass live plant is straightforward, ensuring vibrant growth and beautiful blooms throughout the season. For optimal health and color, understanding its basic needs is key. This hardy perennial grass, often grown as an annual in colder regions, prefers specific conditions to truly flourish.

Sunlight: Purple fountain grass thrives in full sunlight, ideally receiving at least 6-8 hours of direct sun per day. While it can tolerate some light shade, its vibrant burgundy color will be most intense and its flower production most prolific in ample sun. Plant it in a location where it can soak up the morning and afternoon rays for best results.

Watering: When first establishing your starter plant, consistent watering is crucial. Keep the soil evenly moist but not waterlogged. Once established, this plant is considered drought-tolerant, meaning it can withstand periods of dryness. However, for the best appearance, provide supplemental water during prolonged dry spells, especially in hot climates. Ensure good drainage to prevent root rot, which is vital for healthy growth.

Soil: One of the many benefits of pennisetum setaceum rubrum is its adaptability to various soil conditions. It’s not overly picky, but it performs best in well-draining soil. A sandy loam is ideal, but it will tolerate clay and rocky soils as long as they don’t retain too much moisture. Amending heavy clay soils with organic matter can improve drainage and provide a better environment for the roots.

Temperature & Hardiness: This plant is hardy down to about 20 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately USDA Zone 9). In zones 9-11, it can be grown as a perennial, where it will die back in winter and re-emerge in spring. In colder zones (USDA Zones 8 and below), it is best treated as an annual, replanting each spring. The burgundy foliage plant maintains its color and shape through the summer until frost, providing continuous beauty.

Fertilization: Purple fountain grass is not a heavy feeder. A balanced, slow-release fertilizer applied in early spring can promote vigorous growth, especially if your soil is poor. Avoid over-fertilizing, which can lead to excessive foliage growth at the expense of its characteristic plumes. For organic gardeners, a top-dressing of compost can provide sufficient nutrients naturally.

Size & Details

You will receive a healthy and well-rooted purple fountain grass live plant, shipped as a starter plant typically measuring 5-9 inches tall from the base of the plant to the tip of its leaves. These plants are shipped without a pot, allowing for easier transplanting and reducing shipping weight. This ornamental grass is known for its fast growth rate, quickly establishing itself in your garden or container. When mature, it generally reaches a height and spread of 2-4 feet, forming an attractive, mounded clump. The graceful, arching flower plumes will emerge in early summer and continue to provide visual interest until the first frost. This hardy perennial grass, when grown as an annual, provides a full season of vibrant color and texture, making it a dynamic addition to your landscape design and a joy to care for.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big does this purple fountain grass live plant get? A: When mature, this ornamental grass typically reaches a height and spread of 2-4 feet, forming a beautiful, mounded clump. The starter plants you receive are 5-9 inches tall and will grow quickly, adding significant presence to your garden.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: Purple fountain grass is primarily an outdoor plant, thriving in garden beds, borders, and containers where it can receive ample sunlight. It is not typically grown as an indoor houseplant, as it requires significant light to flourish.
• Q: How much sunlight does pennisetum setaceum rubrum need? A: For the best growth and most vibrant color, this plant requires full sun, meaning at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day. It can tolerate some light shade, but its color may be less intense and its blooms less prolific.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: Yes, ornamental grass care for purple fountain grass is considered easy. It’s a low-maintenance plant that is drought-tolerant once established and adaptable to various soil conditions, making it suitable for beginners and experienced gardeners alike.
• Q: What condition will the plant arrive in? A: You will receive a healthy, well-rooted starter plant, typically 5-9 inches tall, shipped without a pot to ensure safe transit and easy planting upon arrival. We ensure careful packaging for its journey.
• Q: How long until it blooms? A: Given proper care and sunlight, your purple fountain grass live plant will start producing its characteristic purplish flower spikes in early summer, continuing to bloom profusely until the first frost, providing extended beauty.
• Q: Will this hardy perennial grass survive winter in my zone? A: This plant is cold weather hardy down to about 20 degrees Fahrenheit (USDA Zone 9). If your area remains above this temperature, it can grow as a perennial. In colder zones, it is best treated as an annual and replanted each spring.
• Q: What’s the ideal soil type for this burgundy foliage plant? A: Purple fountain grass is adaptable but prefers well-draining soil. It can tolerate various soil types, including sandy or loamy soils, as long as they don’t become waterlogged, which can harm the roots.
• Q: Can I grow purple fountain grass in a container? A: Absolutely! Its striking foliage and plumes make it an excellent choice for containers and decorative urns, where its garnet color can beautifully contrast with other plants, creating a stunning display.
• Q: Is this plant considered drought-tolerant? A: Yes, once established, purple fountain grass live plant is quite drought-tolerant. However, consistent watering is recommended during its establishment phase and during extended periods of extreme heat or dryness to maintain its best appearance.