Pennisetum alopecuroides is the original of the hardy Fountain Grasses that you won't find many nurseries offering these days, but in our opinion, it is still one of the best. Perhaps this is due to its larger size, and many other cultivars grow much smaller. A native of Australia, it is heat and cold hardy (USDA Zones 6a to 9b) and very easy to grow. It forms a lovely, gracefully arching mound up to 5 feet high and wide of medium to deep green blades about an inch wide, maturing up to 5 feet high and wide. In early to mid-summer, tall stems bearing abundant, showy, foxtail-like, silvery to pinkish-white flower spikes rise above the foliage like water spraying from a fountain, hence the name. The flowers stay on the plant through mid-winter, contrasting beautifully with the golden-yellow fall and wheat color winter foliage. The flowers are excellent for cutting and displaying in fresh or dried floral arrangements. Fountain Grass is excellent as a specimen or centerpiece in smaller spaces or groupings or as a hedge or border in larger landscape spaces.