By Robert24
I have a small cluster of bulbs that produce a clump of grasses that grow about 4 feet tall and produce purple /pink flowers all summer and is admired by many as it sways in the breeze. I am 92 and now live in a care home with a small raised garden that I use. What is its name please?
- 25 Oct, 2018
Answers
Hi, actually if it is bulbous, it can't be that either, but it's the only thing I can think of that could be described as grass like, with purple pink flowers summer to autumn, Derek.
25 Oct, 2018
Bulbs? rhizomes? tubers? all get mixed up. Yes, a photo would certainly help. The only thing I can think of is Pink Pampas Grass (Cortaderia selloana ‘Rosea’).
25 Oct, 2018
I wonder if it's an allium eg A sphaerocephalon. that sort of fits the description.
do the leaves smell of onions?
25 Oct, 2018
Pennisetum setaceum has purplish pink flowers throughout summer and reaches around 4 feet - it has the common name of fountain grass, though that isn't reliable because that term gets used for other grasses too. However, it depends where you live, because technically its not hardy in the UK. If you're near the coast or in the west country, or your garden is particularly sheltered,it might be that. Otherwise, can you describe the flowers in terms of shape, if you can't post a photo?
25 Oct, 2018
It could be a dierama (angel's fishing rod)
25 Oct, 2018
I think you could be right Andrew, never thought of that 1, Derek.
26 Oct, 2018
Agree with Bamboo, it sounds just like Pennisetum setaceum . . . lovely grass.
26 Oct, 2018
I thought about Dierama too, but that doesn't flower all summer.
26 Oct, 2018
Perhaps you could google the suggestions made above, Robert, and see whether the pictures match your plant. Then you could tell us which it is! It does sound a lovely plant to have.
27 Oct, 2018
Well we have a lot of possibilities here. One guess is as good as another. Giving actual advice is nearly impossible without know exactly the plant in question. A nice clear photo would certainly help.
27 Oct, 2018
Hi, welcome to GoY, is there any chance you could add a photograph please, it would make identification much easier?, are you sure it's a grass ? as far as I know, the only bulbous grass is bulbous bluegrass, but that is dormant in summer, and doesn't get that tall, neither does it have purple/pink flowers. I have a feeling that it might be Verbena bonariensis, but this isn't a grass, Derek.
25 Oct, 2018