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Graceful Grasses® Pennisetum setaceum Red Riding Hood
Graceful Grasses® setaceum Red Riding Hood
 
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Annual Dwarf Purple Fountain Grass. Let me BRIGHTEN your MORNING. Rich burgundy leaves, stems and flowers; blooms in late summer. Award winner. Heat tolerant. Deadheading not necessary. Blooms midsummer to late fall. Hardy to 20 degrees.

Awards (to name a few):
2011 - Superior (top 10%), Penn State
2011 - Top Performer, Kansas State University
2010 - Very Good, Massachusetts Horticultural Society at Elm Bank
2010 - Top Performer, Powell Gardens
2010 - Plant of Merit, University of Georgia

 

Description
 
Uses: cut flowers, dried flowers,containers, grass, landscape
Sun
Plant in average soil moisture
Height: 18" - 30"
Plant: 12" - 20" apart
Habit: upright
Growability: easy

Uses Notes:
Perfect for containers and smaller borders

Maintenance Notes:
Red Riding Hood is a warm-season grass. Where temperatures get colder than 20 degrees F, the plants should be treated as annuals. Once the grass turns brown it can either be removed immediately or removed in the spring. It should not be expected to live through the winter and begin growing again in the spring.

In areas where winter temperatures remain above 20 degrees it should be considered a perennial and the following information should be useful. Warm-season grasses won't start growing until mid to late spring or even early summer. Their major growth and flowering happens when the weather is hot. They will usually turn shades of brown for the winter.

Cut back warm season grasses in fall or by mid to late spring. Warm season grasses turn shades of brown as the weather turns colder. Once your warm season grasses turn brown you can trim them back at almost any time. If you like to tidy your garden in fall or if you live in an area where fire can be problematic trim warm season grasses so they are just a few inches tall.

If you live in an area where fire generally isn't a problem you can leave the dried grasses and seed heads in your garden for winter interest. Snow or ice encrusted ornamental grasses can be quite beautiful.

If you leave the trimming until spring try to make sure to cut them back to the ground (you can leave a couple of inches) by late spring, before new growth begins.

Not all ornamental grasses look good through the winter, trim back those that don't look good in the fall.

Divide warm season grasses anytime spring through mid-summer. All ornamental grasses should be divided when they are actively growing but not while they are flowering. If the plants are dormant when they are transplanted they won't establish a good root system. Warm season grasses generally start growing in late spring or early summer and have their active growth period during the heat of the summer. Warm season grasses will tend to bloom in mid to late summer.

Upright arching. A dwarf form of 'Rubrum', this rich burgundy- colored fountain grass does wonders for any container garden. 'Red Riding Hood' adds height without outgrowing its welcome. Wonderful for smaller borders. Pest and disease-free.

"A Real Simple magazine - Top 10 goofproof Plant"

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