The feather bristle grass is very decorative and can enrich a wide variety of beds. In addition, it is easy to care for and comparatively hardy.
The feather bristle grass, whose Latin variety name is Pennisetum alopecuroides var. viridescens, is also known as fountain grass. The grass, which belongs to the sweet grass family, is also known as Australian lamprey grass and looks very good in the home garden. After all, the herbaceous plant is very decorative and can enrich a wide variety of beds. Finally, the pink, white and brown flowers provide visual accents from August to October, whereby the feather bristle grass can also bring a lot of joy to all hobby gardeners as an easy-care and comparatively hardy plant.
While just one species of this grass is widespread in Central Europe, there are 120 different species worldwide. The variety Pennisetum alopecuroides var. viridescens is particularly widespread in this country and is highly valued as a frugal grass. From the robust resilience to the decorative appearance, there are a number of reasons that speak in favor of planting the lamp cleaner grass in your own garden. For example something like this:
- as groundcover
- as bedding plant
- for group planting
- as a rose companion
- as a solitaire
- in planters
- for later harvest for bouquets
| Feather Grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides var. viridescens) | |
|---|---|
| Growth: | upright, overhanging |
| Growth: | 60 - 90 cm |
| Growth: | 50 - 60 cm |
| Flower color: | black-brown |
| Location: | Sun |
| Floor: | loamy, humic, nutritious |
Detailed profile of the pennisetum
Whether in a natural garden, flower garden, in a pot or rose garden or in parks - these overhanging perennials look decorative everywhere. The clump-forming grass with its stalks can grow to heights of 30 to 120reach centimeters. In addition, the herbaceous plant is characterized by medium to dark green leaves that are between 10 and a good 80 centimeters long and only 3 to 10 millimeters wide. In autumn, some of the plant's overhanging leaves may develop a golden yellow color at the tips, providing additional color accents.
By the way, the pseudo-spikes, i.e. the inflorescences of the plant, which can have a length of 6 to about 30 centimeters, are responsible for the naming of the feather bristle grass. They are yellow-green and sometimes dark violet in color and their bristly-feathered shape actually makes them look like a brush or some kind of lamp cleaner. Pennisetum grass is not originally native to Europe, but rather to Japan, Korea, China and Australia.
In its homeland, the feather bristle grass mainly grows in fresh meadow landscapes. In the meantime, however, the local gardening trade has also discovered the grass for itself, which has something to do with the good frost hardiness of this plant. Incidentally, it was not until the second half of the 20th century that the grass was widespread in Europe.
Different types of pennisetum from the garden trade
Meanwhile, the local gardening trade has several varieties of pennisetum on offer for its customers. Sometimes these are cultivars. The following varieties are particularly popular:
- Hameln
- Moudry
- Piglet
The "Piglet" variety is characterized by its low growth and white-pink panicles. The "Moudry" variety is also a low-growing lamp cleaning grass species that can make a great visual impression with its lush green leaves and purple to black panicles. The "Hameln" variety draws attention to itself with a leaf length of a good 50 centimeters and thus only grows lower than the wild feather bristle grass.
The advantage of this variety is that the white-greenish spikes flower in early summer, so that hobby gardeners do not have to wait that long to fully enjoy the beauty of this ornamental grass.
The Perfect Spot for Pennisetum
If you want to plant the feather bristle grass in your own garden, you should choose a location that is as rich in nutrients and humus as possible, as this is the only way for the plant to thrive. In addition, the lamp cleaning grass likes sunny to half-sun and is considered a lime-tolerant plant. Regarding theThe following points can also be noted for the required soil conditions:
- Pennise grass prefers moderately dry to fresh soil
- soil should be sandy/loamy
- a slightly alkaline or slightly acidic pH is ideal
Because waterlogging can become a problem for the pretty ornamental grass, locations with heavy, compacted soil are absolutely unsuitable when it comes to planting pennisetum. Soils that are very sandy also do not get the grass. If you don’t have a southern location in the garden for the ornamental grass, you should still make sure that the lamp cleaning grass can soak up the sun for at least four hours a day. This also applies to planting on a balcony in a tub or on the terrace, although a southerly orientation is also ideal for such a location.
Provided the feather bristlegrass has a sunny spot and soil with good drainage, the plant will do well all round. Even the blazing sun is not a problem for the grass. However, you must then make sure that you always keep the plant sufficiently moist. Because only older pennisetum specimens that have already established themselves very well can tolerate drought for a while without dying due to the associated lack of water.
When is the best time to plant and how big should the planting distance be?
The ideal time for planting grass is spring. The lamp cleaner grass can be planted both in a bucket and in a bed outdoors. However, the grass is not suitable for underplanting, which is due to the fact that these grasses need as much sun as possible. In addition, the root competition with the other plants would ensure that the feather bristlegrass would probably die. This is another reason why a sufficient distance to the surrounding planting neighbors is so important. In width, the distance should be a good 60 to 80 centimeters to the nearest neighbor.
How to care for the fountain pennise correctly
Casting:
Especially if you have decided to plant in a bucket, it is important to make sure that you water the pennisetum sufficiently. The root ball of the plant should never dry out even remotely. How much water the plant needs depends on the external weather conditions. When watering, you should always use well-tempered water. Because if the irrigation water is too cold, the lamp cleaner grass can even damage it in the worst casetake. It doesn't matter whether you use rainwater or stagnant tap water for watering.
If the conditions are very dry, it makes sense to water the ornamental grass several times. The drainage ensures that there is no waterlogging despite the large amounts of water. At the latest when the stalks and the tips of the feather bristle grass have already turned brownish, it is high time to water the lamp cleaner grass. Because this discoloration is a clear indication that the ambient conditions are too dry.
Especially after planting, you should water the grass regularly for the first few weeks. Only then can the lamp cleaner grass grow very well in its new location. In the case of older grasses, it is not quite as critical if there are larger distances between the individual watering units. However, the soil must not dry out as much as possible if the well-being of the ornamental grass is not to be endangered.
Fertilize:
As a container plant, you should fertilize the grass every 14 days. However, this only applies to the period from May to August. Not only blue grain is suitable as a fertilizer. You can also use the following fertilizers:
- liquid complete fertilizer especially for perennials and green plants
- Pond water rich in nutrients (a full watering can is usually sufficient)
- Compost soil as a cheap fertilizer
Pennisetum Rejuvenate:
In addition, it is important to divide the pennisetum every three to four years. This rejuvenates the grass, which is important for the perennial to sustain a plentiful bud cluster. On the other hand, if this step is not taken, the grass tends to become less decorative.
Pruning:
You should wait until spring to cut back the pretty ornamental grass. Then you can cut back all spent ears without any problems. There are several reasons why you should wait so long to cut back the plant. It's not just about decorative aspects, since the lamp cleaner grass is extremely decorative, especially with a coating of hoarfrost. Rather, the leaf clump should be preserved until spring to protect the core of the plant. Because then the feather bristle grass will get through the winter much better. Hedgehogs are also very grateful for this belated pruning, as they always like to use the grass as winter quarters.
Just before the first buddingin spring you can finally cut back the lamp cleaning grass between February and March at a height of a good ten to 15 centimeters above the ground. While the pruning serves to remove old plant parts and to stimulate the new sprouting of stalks and leaves, there are other reasons that speak for pruning the lamp cleaner grass. For example, diseased, dried up or brown parts of the plant can be removed.
Alternatively, you can also cut off parts of the pennisetum perennials to use them as part of a pretty bouquet in a very decorative way in a vase. Especially in the month of September, cutting the flower stalks for the vase is a good idea. You should make sure that you free the lamp cleaning grass stalks from any insects before you put them in a suitable vase. If you dry the flower stalks (instructions on drying flowers), you can enjoy the dried grass in the vase for many more months.
Hiberation:
If you want to overwinter the fountain pennise as a container plant, you should cover the plant with spruce branches to protect it from frost. Spruce or fir twigs should also be used as frost protection for bedding fountain plants. This is especially true if the weed has been planted outdoors in very harsh regions. If you want to overwinter a feather bristle grass pot indoors frost-free, you should definitely make sure that the temperatures in the premises are very cool.
In addition to the measures mentioned, you should neither cut back nor fertilize the lamp cleaning grass from autumn. This will help the grass overwinter more easily. You should also keep an eye on whether the plant substrate is possibly rotting or maybe even too dry. If the substrate is extremely dry, you must also water the lamp cleaning grass in winter. For the benefit of the plant, this is of course only possible on days without frost.
Does the pennisetum need to be moved or repotted?
Not only the division of the feather bristlegrass can help the plant to thrive for as long as possible. Sometimes you have to move the perennial plant if there are no suitable site conditions, the plant is repeatedly attacked by rust at the current location or the soil dries out regularly, although you provide the lamp cleaning grass with sufficient water. If the site conditions are ideal, you do not have to move the plant.
OnOn the other hand, repotting bulb cleaning grass potted plants is recommended at regular intervals. This is due to a possible lack of nutrients and space in the previous bucket. Dividing the plant and then distributing the plant parts to two or more buckets is also conceivable. If it is purely a nutrient deficiency, all you should do is change the substrate while the pot size can be maintained.
How to propagate feather bristlegrass
In spring you can divide the plant to propagate the pennisetum. Likewise, the feather bristle grass can also be propagated with the help of its seeds, but this is not possible with all lamp cleaner grass subspecies. When dividing this ornamental grass, you should know that sections sometimes have difficulty growing. So this shouldn't cause too much displeasure, as this problem is to be expected.
To divide the pennisetum grass, you have to dig up the plant. You should proceed with as much caution and care as possible. You can then divide the grass and bury it back in soil with a suitable soil condition, taking into account the required planting distance. If this is too time-consuming for you, you can also inquire about pennisetum seeds in specialist shops. However, dividing the plant is required anyway to help rejuvenate and continue flowering.
Pennisetum Diseases and Potential Pests
❍ Waterlogging:
Most known plant diseases and common pests cannot harm feather bristle grass. However, waterlogging can become a serious problem for the pennisetum. Without proper drainage, the ornamental grass will probably die due to excess moisture and the resulting rot.
❍ Rust:
If you do not take care of the feather bristle grass properly, rust can also occur. This is a harmful fungal infestation that needs to be treated with a fungicide. In addition, you should remove all affected parts of the plant immediately so that the rust cannot spread to the rest of the plant. During the fungal infestation, you should also provide the lamp cleaner grass with as little water as possible. A change of location is advisable if the ornamental grass is repeatedly affected by rust infestation in the same place.
❍ Spider mites:
An infestation with spider mites is also quite conceivable in an already weakened pennisetum. Of theSpecialist shops offer the appropriate insecticides to combat these pests. However, visible traces of the spider mites are clearly visible, so you can act quickly and even do without this drastic measure. Spider mites can be effectively combated, for example, by showering the feather bristle grass or spraying it twice a week with a mixture of water and rapeseed oil (1 liter of water + 250 milliliters of rapeseed oil). The fine drops of oil then clog the spider mites' breathing openings, so that they suffocate in a very short time. A broth made from field horsetail (instructions for making field horsetail broth yourself) helps just as well as nettle manure (instructions for making nettle manure yourself).
Important: Protect children and pets from the feather bristlegrass
Although the lamp cleaner grass and all its components are completely non-toxic, there is still a risk of injury from the grass. Pets and children in particular can suffer painful cuts from feather bristle grass. If the grass is consumed, not only the stomach but also the trachea and esophagus can be injured. The following safety measures should therefore be considered by all parents and pet owners who want to plant the fountain pennise:
- Shield grass with a fence
- Choose a high location for Pennisetum Tub Farming
- Contact a doctor immediately after consumption
- Disinfect and treat cuts immediately