Japanese name: ファウンテングラス Scientific name:Pennisetum setaceum
[Overview]
A perennial 90–120 cm tall.
Many linear leaves arch outward, giving a fountain-like form.
A cylindrical flower spike 30–40 cm long emerges at the stem tip, densely bearing many spikelets.
The spikelets have long involucral bracts (awns), and the flower spike is shaped like a bottle-cleaning brush and tinged with purple.
The fruit detaches together with the hairs at its tip and is carried off by animals and the like.
[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by division.
Because it is sensitive to cold, it is mainly treated as an annual, but to overwinter it, pot it and move it to a sunny place indoors.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained place.
To overwinter it, keep it at 0°C or above.
It is hardy and easy to grow.
For potted plants, water thoroughly after the soil has dried; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient unless sunny weather continues and the soil becomes severely dry.
If fertilizer is applied at planting, no further fertilizing is particularly necessary.
There are no particular pests or diseases.
[Notes]
The name comes from its fountain-like form.
