Chinese Fountain Grass Hameln

A delightful grass for milder areas, Pennisetum alopecuroides Hameln is a clump-forming, deciduous, perennial grass with narrow, linear green leaves forming a compact mound, turning yellow in autumn and brown in winter. In July and August and into September, fuzzy, bottle-brush flowers like squirrel-tails appear above the clump of leaves; these are green at first, with darker hairs, turning pinkish-purple, then brown. Remove old leaves and flowered stems before growth starts in spring. Chinese fountain grass Hameln holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit, but will need winter protection in cooler areas.