The Only Plant You Need For A Container To Impress in All Seasons – With Months of Color for Minimal Effort
This ornamental grass will bring you long-lasting, drought-tolerant color for 10 months of the year
Spring is a brilliant time to plant up an all-season garden planter that will see you through the rest of the year, bringing colour, joy and – with this particular pick – tactile gorgeousness and gentle movement.
The plant I've chosen for this task is an ornamental grass called Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum'. And it's an absolute stunner. More familiarly known as Chinese fountain grass, purple fountain grass or plume grass, it's a statuesque warm-season specimen with deep burgundy foliage topped with soft bottlebrush flowers in toning buff and claret.
Article continues belowWhy You'll Love Purple Fountain Grass
Spectacular in both color and form, purple fountain grass is one of my favourites to weave through hot, sheltered spots in the backyard, bringing movement and sensuality from spring right the way through to the first frosts of the year. It's a go-to when landscaping with ornamental grasses.
In spring its new shoots emerge a rich dark red, at first flushed with bright zingy green. These arch upwards with maturity, eventually reaching up to 5ft (1.5m), when they're topped with those fluffy touch-me, feel-me pink flower plumes.
You can shop for purple fountain grass at Fast Growing Trees
As summer turns to fall, those tactile bobbing wands gradually fade to a pale biscuit colour.
Purple fountain grass is a half-hardy perennial, which essentially means outside of USDA Zones 9-11 you're probably best off either growing it as an annual, or keeping it for containers that you can bring into a frost-free spot over winter.
That said, it does well both in my sheltered west-facing border and in a pot on my west-facing balcony, where winter temperatures reliably stay above (23°F) -5°C
Purple fountain grass appreciates well-drained, friable, but rich soil but it doesn't thrive in clay. Fortunately, this won't be a problem if you're growing it in a container, where you can give it the sharp drainage it needs to perform at its magnificent best.
Shop for purple fountain grass at Fast Growing Trees
Check Before you Plant
A word of caution before you plant purple fountain grass. This ornamental grass is considered invasive in some US states, including Florida, California, Virginia, Hawaii and Maryland, and planting of it is restricted.
Importantly, it is also considered a fire risk because it can burn intensely.
The 'Rubrum' cultivar we are talking about is generally considered less aggressive than the P. setaceum species, however it is still capable of re-seeding and invading surrounding landscapes.
It is good practice to check your local extension service, and the US Invasive Plant Atlas, before you plant.
Choose Your Container
The first consideration when choosing a suitable pot for purple fountain grass is drainage. Drainage holes at the bottom are vital, as without them this grass will get soggy and sulk. If your must-have container doesn't have drainage holes, you can always drill some in – just remember to cover the area with masking tape first to stop the pot cracking.
Make sure too that you choose a planter with plenty of space for this grass to reach its ultimate size and spread. It's capable of growing to around 1.5m tall and 1.2m in spread, although a container will obviously contain that growth so it may only reach around 3ft (90cm).
Nevertheless, you'll need something roomy, at least 16in (40cm) in diameter and up to twice that in depth so it doesn't end up looking top heavy. Try this sleek Opus Terrazzo planter from Wayfair or the 19in tall dark gray concrete planter, also from Wayfair, for a contemporary look
Being such a shapely, rounded plant, I'm of the opinion that a pot with curves will set off your purple fountain grass to its best advantage. So an urn, goblet or vase-style design would look fabulous.
The Barnacle Egg Planter from Anthropologie is a stunning choice as is Anthropologie's Seaside Urn – picture a pair either side of the steps up to your front door.
Then it's really up to you whether you choose terracotta, glazed ceramic, wood or metal for your planter. A complementary colour would really set off your purple fountain grass to perfection: pinks, purples and chocolate tones would work well.
Next, Fill It With Compost
I'm of the opinion that ornamental grasses are one of the most beautiful and low-maintenance solutions to a hot, dry spot – whether that's in a backyard flower border or in a container.
Those arching stems topped with late-season colour bring movement and elegance for months on end.
What most of them do need for a good start and healthy growth – and purple fountain grass is no exception – is a rich, moist compost.
So ideally choose a good peat-free loam-based option combined with a peat-free multipurpose compost or some of your own garden compost if you have it. Worth remembering that if your container is particularly large, you can fill the bottom of a large planter without compost to keep costs down.
Spring is the ideal time to plant up warm-season grasses such as purple fountain grass. As always, soak your new plant in a bucket of water for an hour before planting. Then tease out the rootball if it has become at all pot bound. Next, plant it in the centre of your container, firming it in gently, then giving it a really good soak.
Finally, for a super-polished look, I love a well-considered pebble mulch over the surface of compost in pots, especially if I'm planting a single specimen plant in a container like this one.
Anything pale with a hint of blush pink will set off your purple fountain grass to perfection. There are huge benefits to be gained from mulching: it will also help your pot to retain moisture and keep weeds from setting seed.
Shop Rain Forest pink gravel at Home Depot
Looking After Your Purple Fountain Grass
Low maintenance grasses are a joy. And purple fountain grass is definitely in this category. I love that you can leave it pretty much all year with little in the way of love and attention and it will repay you with colour and elegance regardless.
When you're learning how to grow grasses, do keep an eye on moisture levels with purple fountain grass in a pot. Water well and deeply when the top couple of inches of soil become dry.
If you live in a frost-free area, you can keep your container outdoors over winter. If not, pop it in a greenhouse or another light, but frost-free place until the weather warms up again next spring.
Then you'll just need to cut it back in early spring to ground level. The new shoots will soon start to show from below. Super simple, right?
What To Plant Alongside Purple Fountain Grass
Although I'll be the first to admit that a handsome container planted up with a healthy specimen of purple fountain grass needs nothing else for it to shine and take centre stage, there may be times when a little extra colour and texture could be shoe-horned in.
If your fountain grass needs time to fill out its pot, then a few carefully chosen plants around the edge make sense. Try filling in temporarily with a smaller grass such as Mexican feather grass to continue the theme in the same vein.
Alternatively, tune into the rich late-summer colors of purple fountain grass and choose pink and purple toned partners such as begonias, heucheras and violas. Low-growing dahlias work well too, as do the frothy pinkaand white daisy flowers of Mexican fleabane (Erigeron karvinskianus).
Shop heucheras/coral bells at Nature Hills Nursery
Shop ornamental grasses at Nature Hills Nursery
I've found that if you're after an all-season garden container, then ornamental grasses are as close to perfection as you can get. Many of them, including purple fountain grass, flower in summer, then just keep going, color-shifting subtly into fall and beyond. They also hold on to those gorgeous seed heads over winter.
Planting up any container is a surefire way to brighten up your world. And when it's as easy as popping a purple-toned grass into a favourite pot, there's really no excuse not to give it a try.
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