Pennisetum plant named ‘Puppy Love’

Abstract

A new and distinct cultivar of ornamental Fountain Grass, Pennisetum alopecuroides Puppy Love, characterized by vase-shaped habit of medium height and olive-green arching foliage that develops a blush of greyed-purple. Flowering begins in late August with a greyed-purple effective color period of about ten weeks.

Claims

1. A new and distinct cultivar of ornamental Pennisetum alopecuroides plant named Puppy Love as herein described and illustrated.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The photographs of the new plant demonstrate the overall appearance of the plant, including the unique traits. The colors are as accurate as reasonably possible with color reproductions. Ambient light spectrum, source and direction may cause the appearance of minor variation in color.

(2) FIG. 1 shows a four-year-old plant in the landscape in early flowering stage.

(3) FIG. 2 shows a close up of the flowers.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

(4) The following descriptions and color references are based on the 2015 edition of The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart except where common dictionary terms are used. The new plant, Pennisetum Puppy Love, has not been observed under all possible environments. The phenotype may vary slightly with different environmental conditions, such as temperature, light, fertility, moisture and maturity levels, but without any change in the genotype. The following observations and size descriptions are of a four-year old plant in a display garden in Zealand, Mich. in full sun with supplemental water and fertilizer. Parentage: The female parent is Pennisetum Ginger Love; most likely Ginger Love was the male parent. Propagation method: Division of the rhizomes in early spring; Time to finishing in a 65 cm pot: Three months; Rooting habit: Normal, coarsely branching; color variable depending on soil types, nearest RHS 158D; Plant description: Plant shape and habit: Hardy, herbaceous, perennial grass forming tightly rhizomatous mound of arching foliage, with upright vase-shaped culms topped with finely textured airy inflorescence; Foliage: Cauline and basal; linear; two-ranked; glabrous, flat, erect to arcuate toward apices, sheathed from node of attachment to ligule; narrowly acute apex; base sheath; margin entire; deciduous but persist through winter; lustrous adaxial and matte abaxial; Foliage size: To about 51.0 cm long and about 8.0 mm wide, averaging about 45 cm long and about 8 mm wide; Sheath: Overlapping margins in upper leaves, not overlapping in lower leaves; to about 14.0 cm long, average about 12.5 cm long; Leaf color: Adaxial nearest RHS 137A with blushing accents of between RHS 187B and RHS N186C; abaxial nearest RHS 137B; Veins: Parallel; not obvious; colors identical to surrounding leaf on both the top and bottom; without prominent midrib; Culm: Erect, terete, stiff; completely enclosed by leaf sheath in distal portion and partially exposed in proximal portion; to about 97.5 cm tall, about 5.0 mm wide at base, average about 92 cm tall and 5.0 mm diameter; Inflorescence: Usually one panicle per culm; to about 97.5 cm tall; Flower effective period: Beginning mid-August and continuing to produce young flower spikes into late September; individual spikes effective for up to about 10 weeks; No fragrance detected; Flower: Perfect; incomplete; terminal bristled pubescent; about 175 flowers covering the terminal 14.0 cm of the rachis; about 5.2 cm wide; dehiscent; Flower fragrance: No fragrance detected; Flower attitude: Outright to slightly upright; Rachis: Up to 14.0 cm long; stiff; upright; color nearest RHS 137B; Individual florets size: About 9.0 mm long and 2.5 mm across; Rachilla: Stiff, cylindrical; to about 4.0 mm long and 0.3 mm diameter; color nearest RHS 137C; Lemma: (Outer bract) ovate to lanceolate; acute apex and truncate base; glabrous; glaucous; about 3.0 mm long and 1.0 mm wide at base; color abaxial and adaxial base nearest RHS 138B, distal two-thirds nearest RHS 187A; Glumes or palea: Two; lanceolate; narrowly acute apex and truncate base; glabrous, glaucous; about 7.0 mm long and 2.0 mm wide toward center; color abaxial and adaxial distal one-half nearest RHS 187A, abaxial and adaxial base nearest RHS 145B with veins nearest RHS 187A; Bristles: Size variable, 2.0 mm to 25.0 mm long and about 0.1 mm diameter; flexible but stiff; Bristle color: Nearest N186B; Gynoecium: Single; to about 9.0 mm long; Stigma: Divergent bifid; plumose; protruding 1.0 to 2.0 mm from glume and about 1.0 to 2.0 mm long; color nearest RHS NN155B; Style: About 4.0 mm long; color nearest RHS NN155B; Ovary: Globose; about 0.5 mm diameter; color nearest RHS 193C; Androecium: Three; Filaments: Fine, hair-like, nearest RHS NN155B, less than 1 mm diameter and about 2.0 mm long; Anthers: About 2.0 to 3.0 mm long and about 1.0 mm wide, closest to RHS 163A; Pollen: Elliptical, less than 0.1 mm long, nearest RHS N25B; Fruit: Caryopsis; slightly flattened ellipsoid with pointed apex and base, about 2.5 mm long and 1.2 mm wide, nearest RHS 199B; Hardiness, pest and disease resistance: The plant grows best with plenty of moisture and adequate drainage, but is able to tolerate some drought when mature. Hardiness at least from USDA zone 5 through 9. Disease and pest resistance beyond what is typical of that of other Fountain Grass has not been observed.