It's gorgeous, isn't it Meggs? The fact that its seed is infertile makes it a great choice for those who like the look of grasses.

Prepare yourself for a possible nasty shock when you see the price of it though - it's generally around the $25 mark, although Bunnings here had them recently for about $10. I just wish I'd seen them there before they'd almost expired.

Welllll Liatris, $25 you say!!!! If I mention it often enough to my kids I might get it as a present :-) but it has to be available in WA!!!!!

Your local Bunnings might be able to get it in for you.

If you're unable to track it down over your way, Meggs, check with the Ag dept(?) whether it's permitted entry into WA. Come Winter when it's dormant again mine will hopefully have multiplied enough to be able to send you a bit.

Sorry Meggs, I haven't been to a mainstream nursery for quite some time so I don't know.

Thank you Liatris for your offer, it is very kind of you. I managed to get an answer from a whole sale nursery [Benara] that it should be available in autumn so I think we will leave yours to grow a little bit bigger and I will have to wait for mine when it is in the shops. I do not know why but I am crazy about the purple and silver plant combination. At the moment I am planting purple flax and blue fescue as a boarder and it looks great. I love when the grass is flowering and has noding flower heads.

I FOUND IT :-))))) and naturally I bought it. Anybody has any experience with this plant? How quickly does it grow? I bought mine in Bunnings for $9.99 and it is still a baby. I would like to multiply it. The ? is do I plant it in the ground or leave it in a pot to get a quicker result of getting more plants?

Congratulations, Meggs! I bought one of those from Bunnings that were looking very sad by the time I'd found them, probably back in about June or July. It's now looking VERY stunning, in a pot. I'd first seen it potted up in a white pot, with the rounded white pebbles, and decided that was the look I wanted.

It would no doubt depend on your climate and soil as to whether your plant would increase faster in the ground or a pot. I have personally found it does better in a pot - the bits that I did stick in the ground sat and did nothing, whereas once I'd potted them, they took off.

Once you have some decent lengths of the plant you can cut it and lay it in a shallow trench, cover it and it should grow easily from each node. I have done that with some Bannah grass (Pennisetum sp) and it works well. It's possible that this purple one isn't as tough, but it should work fine.

Thanks Pam and Gruntle. I will keep it in a pot for the time being. I will see how much it has grown over summer. If it is big I will plant/divide? it in the ground in autumn. It is already flowering :-).

Congrats Meggs, however I must raise an issue with you that seems to be all over Google about this 'apparently' being capable of taking over the world as an environmental weed. Just thought I should mention it in case someone raises the subject one day. Search on google and there's plenty of info about it.. Hope you enjoy it regardless however I would be hesitant about growing plenty of babies....:)

Garry

I have one at my old house and had tried just cutting off pieces and sticking them in the ground. No luck. I'll try the trench method next time I'm visiting (my mother now lives there). Thanks for that tip.
Meggs, mine was painfully slow to begin with. In fact I thought it had died and would have pulled it except that I kept forgetting to do so. Then one day it started to grow and hasn't looked back really. I hope my mother remembers to water it occasionally.

>I must raise an issue with you that seems to be all over Google about this 'apparently' being capable of taking over the world as an environmental weed.

Garry, this particular variety doesn't set viable seed, so vegetative propagation is the only means of reproduction.

Thanks for the info Pam .... Now I'm a little wiser and should solve any worries Meggs may have had...They did however suggest that it was the Purple Fountain Grass advertised in Bunnings,etc so someones got their wires crossed. Prob me..!

Cheers

Garry

I bought a largish pot last March and divided it into smaller clumps before planting it out in the garden. It now looks as though it is about to take off beautifully, seems fairly hardy. I'll divide again soon and plant those bits out too....looks great with ground covers on my sloping front garden. Am interested in the trenching idea though!