Pennisetum orientaleOriental Fountain Grass

The Pennisetum orientale, or Oriental Fountain Grass, is a fine-leaved tussock grass whose natural range runs from North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean across Central Asia to northwest India. It forms a low arching mound of narrow grey-green blades and lifts soft pinkish bottlebrush plumes above it right through summer and autumn.

Because the species belongs to this climate belt rather than being imported into it, it holds condition on median strips and gravel beds with very little irrigation reaching it.

Specifications

• Height0.5 to 0.8 metres, reaching 1 metre in flower
• Width0.5 to 0.8 metres
• Native toNorth Africa, the eastern Mediterranean, and Central Asia through to northwest India
• FoliageFine, narrow, grey-green blades in a dense arching tuft; semi-evergreen depending on the winter
• Growth rateModerate

Conditions

• SoilPrefers free-draining gravelly or sandy soils and tolerates poor and alkaline ground
• LightFull sun
• WaterLow; drought-tolerant once established
• ClimateThrives in Mediterranean, arid and semi-arid, and warm temperate regions

Additional Features

• FlowersSoft pinkish bottlebrush plumes held above the foliage from early summer into autumn
• UsesIdeal for mass planting on medians and verges, gravel and xeric gardens, and naturalistic drifts
• SpacingPlant 0.5 to 0.7 metres apart for a continuous drift
• Low MaintenanceCut back once a year before new growth; nothing else is required
• Pest ResistanceGenerally trouble-free
• Drought ToleranceNative to dry country and holds form on minimal irrigation
• Seasonal AppealPlumes carry the display from early summer through autumn and catch low light

Oriental Fountain Grass gives movement and soft texture to hard, hot, dry planting beds without adding to their water demand.