I was so excited this past spring to find out about a new black grass, Pennisetum ‘First Knight’ (Napier Grass), supposedly (maybe) hardy to Zone 7! I bought this plant online as a four-inch pot in May, and as you can see from the photos below, it has grown HUGE this summer, and is right about five feet tall in my garden now. I love this gorgeous plant so much that I purchased three more of them.
This upright plant is the darkest colored grass I’ve seen, and grows about four and a half to five feet tall in mostly full sun. It’s supposed to do well even in part shade, needs well-drained soil, and is hardy in Zones 7-11. I’m really hoping these plants will return next spring, and I’ll probably mulch over the roots with a few pine branches after the frost takes them down in late fall, just to protect them a little. Even if they don’t prove hardy here in my Zone 7a garden, I’ll definitely buy this plant again next year. Click on any photo to view larger.
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Pennisetum ‘First Knight’
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I concur, an awesome grass! I really hope it comes up next year for you.
I hope so too Jim! Next year, I won’t plant those big elephant ears so close behind the grass.
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Love the first knight. My daughter lives in Austin to and has it in her flower beds. The tops froze during freezes but in the spring she cut them to about 12 in from the ground and they came back beautiful. I am putting some in my new beds. So far the deer have left them alone.