Fountain Grass
Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hamelin'
(pen-ih-SEE-tum) (al-oh-pek-yur-OH-id-eez)
Synonym: 'Hameln'
Pennisetum is a ‘go-to’ genus for our gardens. One or more of the cultivars usually finds a way into the design. 'Hamelin' is nice since it stays somewhat smaller than species. If you want a Fountain Grass that is really small try ‘Little Bunny’ but I have found they can get a little lost amongst the other plants. We tried a new Oriental Fountain Grass from Sunny Border Nurseries called 'Karley Rose' (Pennisetum orientale 'Karley Rose') and that did well but I want to see what it does after the winter and next season. ‘Moudry’ is also another nice cultivar of alopecuroides, it gets black seed heads which are interesting. The fact that Fountain Grass is deer resistant is also another big plus for growing it.
One thing I have noticed about 'Hamelin' is that it is sometimes mismarked at the nursery. This maybe a local phenomena but it has happened to me a couple of times.
Here is a flower picture. It is another of the NYBG Series of Korean Chrysanthemums. The color is perfect for fall, I think.
3 comments:
Nice light on that fountain grass, I like it! Reminds me somehow to a cat tail :)
Thanks, Susanne. The light was nice. My next goal is to try a picture of some of the taller grass seed heads.
I like the skeletal quality of the 'Hamln' photos. I would disagree with you on 'Moudry' being nice. I grubbed a section from a clump at work and brought it home. After two years it was coming up everywhere, in my beds, in the lawn, even in the sidewalk cracks. I pulled them out and it took another 3 summers to finally eradicate it.
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