Grass Specifications
- Season: Perennial
- USDA Zones: 8 - 11
- Height: 40 - 60 inches
- Width: 32 - 48 inches
- Foliage Color: Young-plants are green and require sufficient warmth, purple pigmentation occurs when plants are exposed to full sun
- Flower Color: Purple
- Growth Rate: Moderate
- Fall Color: No change
- Soil Requirement: Sandy or light loam, pH range is 5.5 - 7.0
- Environment: Full sun
- Moisture Requirements: Average to dry
Planting Directions
- Temperature: 72 - 78F
- Average Germ Time: 3 - 5 days
- Light Required: No
- Depth: Cover the seed with approximately 3/8" of media to prevent seedlings from tipping over
- Sowing Rate: 3 or more seeds per plant
- Moisture: Keep seeds moist until germination
- Plant Spacing: 48 inches
- Care & Maintenance: See: Purple Millet
Purple Millet (Pennisetum Glaucum) - This award-winning new Ornamental Millet offers spring leaves of bright chartreuse that mature through all shades of red and bronze into a burgundy-purple. This dense, bushy and compact ornamental grass is topped with long, dramatic purple seed-heads in early summer, adding bold color to any partly-shaded setting.
The foliage is really beautiful from the moment it opens bright chartreuse in spring (and these seeds germinate in just a few days, springing right up in the garden!), and it changes to shades of red and bronze before darkening into a burgundy-purple richness. The seed-heads arrive in early summer, very spiky in 9 to 12 inch plumes that are ideal in fresh and dried arrangements. Even a small planting of this ornamental grass is quite striking, and a large display is breathtaking!
Purple Millet is quite stocky and symmetrical. As it matures it reaches about 40 - 60 inches tall all and 32 - 48 inches wide, with three main stalks and excellent branching.
Purple Millet makes a striking edging, border standout, or perimeter planting. It is ideal for low-maintenance areas, putting on a colorful show from spring till frost with very little help from you. And if you love all those color changes, sow the ornamental grass seeds at two-week intervals all spring, so you'll have many colors at once for an even longer season!
Purple Millet shows its best color in temperate and warm climates, and is suitable for containers as well as the garden. It asks only for partial shade to grow easily and beautifully! You can't go wrong with this millet which functions as an ornamental grass.
