National Capital Region

Exotic Management Team National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

1 Invasive Plant Alert

Fountain Grass The green grass blades emerge in species. No biological controls (L.) spring, approximately 0.25 inches have been found for this plant. Spreng. wide. In early autumn, (late August, early September) flowers Fountain grass is a perennial emerge and quickly grow above grass often used in ornamental the grass blades on thin stalks. gardening. It has recently been The flowers occur in ~5 inch long observed escaping cultivation, clusters, having the appearance of and could become a serious weed thin bottle-brushes. They quickly in natural areas. change from green to pink and violet to tan. Where to Look Fountain grass fruits will break Fountain grass is originally from and , where it is open after a few hard freezes, Figure 3 Pennisetum alopecuroides found in meadows, open woods scattering seeds which can form leaf blades. Bonnie Million, National and along streams. It prefers new . Of particular concern Park Service, Bugwood.org is the variety ‘Moudry’ – Black evenly moist, well-drained soil Resources and full sun, but can tolerate Fountain grass, which can Ohio State University partial shade and poorer quality prolifically self-seed. Horticulture & Crop Science soils. It is considered drought- Plant fact tolerant. sheet: http://hcs.osu.edu/hcs/tm

i/plantlist/pe_oides.html The distribution of naturalized

fountain grass is unclear, but it is Fountain Grass, Grasses of considered hardy in zones 4 and Iowa, Iowa State 5, but can be grown in zones 4- University: http://www.eeob.ias 11. It has been reported as tate.edu/research/iowagrasses/o naturalized in New York, rnamental/PenniAlopeOr.html Pennsylvania, Illinois, and

Arkansas. Pennisetum alopecuroides: Figure 2 Fountain Grass flowers in early autumn. Bonnie Million, Bluestem Nursery Plant National Park Service, Bugwood.org Information sheet: http://www.bluestem.ca/ How to get rid of it? pennisetum-alopec.htm Control can be difficult. It tends to be more prolific in some Pennisetum alopecuroides, areas, and some plants have USDA Plants been observed to be growing Database: http://plants.usda.gov more vigorous than others. The /java/nameSearch

Figure 1 Fountain Grass has showy variation has yet to be flowering spikes. Bonnie Million, satisfactorily explained. It is National Park Service, Bugwood.org best to simply not plant fountain grass (particularly the ‘Moudry’ Identifying the Plant variety). No studies have been Fountain grass appears as an conducted on the use of upright, radiating grass, with herbicides for the control of this heights ranging from 1 to 5 feet.

1 This species has been identified as a potential or emerging threat to natural areas in the mid-Atlantic region

2012 National Park Service, National Capital Region Exotic Plant Management Team, Washington, DC. Written by Allison Mastalerz, edited by Mark Frey