Pennisetum messiacum 'Red Buttons' (Red bunny tails, Fountain grass)


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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Botanical Name: Pennisetum messiacum 'Red Buttons' pen-nih-SEE-tum mess-EYE-ah-kum Common Name: Red bunny tails, Fountain grass Genus: Pennisetum
This annual produces deep reddish-black flowers that resemble rabbits' tails. Flowers persist throughout the season. This plant forms an evergreen clump of green foliage with burgundy highlights, 2 feet high and 3 feet wide.
Care: Grow in light, average, well-drained soil in full sun. Cut back previous year's foliage by early spring where hardy.
Propagation: Divide in late spring or early autumn. Sow seed in early spring at 55° to 65°F.
Problems: Rust, eye spot, leaf spots.
Height 1 ft. to 3 ft.
Spread 3 ft. to 6 ft.
Growth Habit Clumps
Growth Pace Moderate Grower
Light Full Sun Only
Moisture Medium Moisture
Maintenance Low
Tolerance Deer Tolerant
Characteristics Attracts Birds; Self Seeds; Showy Flowers; Showy Foliage; Showy Seed Heads
Bloom Time Summer
Flower Color Brown Flower; Red Flower
Uses , Beds and Borders, Ground Covers, Cut Flower, Dried Flower, Naturalizing, Suitable as Annual
Style , Herb Garden, Meadow Garden, Formal Garden
Seasonal Interest , Summer Interest, Fall Interest
Type ,Grasses

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