Life Span
Perennial
Perennial
Type
Flowering Plants
Grass
Origin
Southwestern United States, California
Europe, Asia
Types
-
Pennisetum alopecuroides
Number of Varieties
408
0
40000
👆🏻
Habitat
Dry areas, meadows
Grassland
USDA Hardiness Zone
4-94-8
0
99
👆🏻
AHS Heat Zone
9-1
-
Sunset Zone
1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21
2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 24
Habit
Clump-Forming
Clump-Forming
Plant Size
Minimum Height
61.00 cm30.50 cm
0
3900
👆🏻
Minimum Width
25.40 cm30.50 cm
0
6350
👆🏻
Plant Color
Flower Color
Crimson
White
Flower Color Modifier
Bicolor
Bicolor
Fruit Color
-
-
Leaf Color in Spring
Green
Purple, Dark Green
Leaf Color in Summer
Green
Light Green
Leaf Color in Fall
Green
Purple, Dark Green
Leaf Color in Winter
-
Tan
Shape
Leaf Shape
Oblong
Grass like
Thorns
✔
✘
✔
✘
Plant Season
Summer
Summer, Fall
Growing Conditions
Sunlight
Full Sun, Partial Sun
Full Sun, Partial Sun
Growth Rate
Fast
Medium
Type of Soil
Loam, Sand
Loam
The pH of Soil
Neutral, Alkaline
Acidic, Neutral, Alkaline
Soil Drainage
Well drained
Average
Bloom Time
Early Summer, Summer, Late Summer
Spring, Late Spring, Early Summer, Summer
Repeat Bloomer
✔
✘
✔
✘
Tolerances
-
Wet Site, Salt
Where to Plant?
Ground
Ground
How to Plant?
Seedlings, Stem Planting
Seedlings
Plant Maintenance
Medium
Medium
Watering Plants
Watering Requirements
Do Not over Water, Requires watering in the growing season, Water Deeply, Water when soil is dry
Requires a lot of watering, Requires regular watering
In Summer
Lots of watering
Lots of watering
In Spring
Moderate
Ample Water
In Winter
Average Water
Moderate
Soil
Soil pH
Neutral, Alkaline
Acidic, Neutral, Alkaline
Soil Type
Loam, Sand
Loam
Soil Drainage Capacity
Well drained
Average
Sun Exposure
Full Sun, Partial Sun
Full Sun, Partial Sun
Pruning
No pruning needed in the early stages, Prune to stimulate growth, Remove damaged leaves, Remove dead leaves, Remove deadheads
Prune to control growth
Fertilizers
All-Purpose Liquid Fertilizer, Apply 10-10-10 amount
Requires high amount of nitrogen
Pests and Diseases
Insects
Red blotch
Plant Tolerance
Drought
Wet Site
Flowers
Showy
Showy
Flower Petal Number
Single
Single
Fruits
Showy Fruit
✔
✘
✔
✘
Edible Fruit
✔
✘
✔
✘
Fragrance
Fragrant Flower
✔
✘
✔
✘
Fragrant Fruit
✔
✘
✔
✘
Fragrant Leaf
✔
✘
✔
✘
Fragrant Bark/Stem
✔
✘
✔
✘
Showy Foliage
✔
✘
✔
✘
Showy Bark
✔
✘
✔
✘
Foliage Texture
Medium
Medium
Foliage Sheen
Matte
Matte
Evergreen
✔
✘
✔
✘
Invasive
✔
✘
✔
✘
Self-Sowing
✔
✘
✔
✘
Attracts
Hummingbirds
-
Allergy
Asthma
Asthma, conjunctivitis, Rhinitis
Uses
Aesthetic Uses
Showy Purposes
-
Beauty Benefits
-
-
Edible Uses
✔
✘
✔
✘
Environmental Uses
Air purification
Food for animals, Food for insects, Wildlife
Plant Benefits
Medicinal Uses
Burns, Snakebite, Stomach aliments
-
Part of Plant Used
Whole plant
Whole plant
Other Uses
Used as Ornamental plant
cultivated as pasture or hay crop, Food for animals, Food for insects
Used As Indoor Plant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Used As Outdoor Plant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Garden Design
Container, Mixed Border, Rock Garden / Wall, Wildflower
Bedding Plant, Feature Plant, Groundcover
Botanical Name
PENSTEMON eatonii
ALOPECURUS
Common Name
Firecracker Penstemon
Foxtail Grass
In Hindi
Firecracker penstemon
Foxtail Grass
In German
Kracher penstemon
Foxtail Grass
In French
Firecracker penstemon
Foxtail Grass
In Spanish
Penstemon del petardo
Hierba de cola de zorra
In Greek
πυροτέχνημα penstemon
αλωπέκουρου Grass
In Portuguese
Penstemon do foguete
grama de foxtail
In Polish
petarda penstemon
ber trawy
In Latin
Firecracker Persicaria
panicum Grass
Kingdom
Plantae
Plantae
Phylum
-
Magnoliophyta
Class
-
Liliopsida
Order
Lamiales
Cyperales
Family
Scrophulariaceae
Poaceae
Genus
Penstemon
Alopecurus
Clade
Angiosperms, Asterids, Eudicots
-
Tribe
-
-
Subfamily
-
-
Number of Species
25012
1
27800
👆🏻