Pennisetum orientale JS Dance With Me - Oriental Fountain Grass

The Pennisetum orientale 'JS Dance With Me' is a remarkably flowering variety of grass with white inflorescences that are more abundant than usual varieties. They are produced in large numbers and dance in the wind, emerging from a clump of slender, not very tall leaves. This perennial grass is remarkable for its elegance and light grace but also because it remains decorative until late in the season, even in winter. With unrestrained poetry, it blends well with modern decor and romantic or natural compositions in the ground and pots. Its inflorescences are magnificent in dried bouquets.

The 'JS Dance With Me' grass is a recent Belgian horticultural creation. Among its ancestors is the Pennisetum orientale, a rhizomatous perennial plant native to central and southwestern Asia.

Semi-evergreen to evergreen in not-too-cold climates, this 'JS Dance With Me' variety is hardy down to -15°C (5°F) in well-drained soil and shows moderately fast growth. The plant forms a relatively upright fountain of rough, ribbon-like, glaucous-coloured foliage, 60 cm (24in) tall when flowering, 45 cm (18in) for the foliage, occupying about 30-40 cm (12-16in) in diameter in the ground. The flowering, particularly abundant, generally takes place from early August to October, longer if the autumn is mild and the faded flower heads are removed. The long, densely packed spikes slightly hang above the foliage, carried by stiff stems. They are composed of tiny white spikelets gathered in narrow panicles, 15-20 cm (6-8in) long, with a feathery appearance, covered in long silver hairs. As they fade, they turn whiter and then tawny and remain decorative in winter.

The 'JS Dance With Me' Pennisetum is an architectural plant, undemanding, straightforward and can be planted almost anywhere. It is versatile, clean, and welcome in a wild or contemporary garden. Perfectly adapted to sea spray and tolerating drought reasonably well, it is useful in a garden without watering, flower pots, or rockeries when paired with autumn stonecrops. Plant it en masse along a pathway, or create romantic scenes with summer or autumn flowering perennials such as asters, shrubby salvias, thistles, and echinaceas. Its pairing with summer or autumn flowering heathers (Erica multiflora in limestone soil, Erica lusitanica or arborea in acidic soil) looks stunning. This grass can also be used as a ground cover.