Imperata
Imperata cylindrica
Blades color red wherever the sun reaches them, and any all-green shoot is the invasive wild form reasserting itself.
Light Full sun to partial shade; the color is best in full sun.
Water Keep it evenly moist, especially through the first season.
Height 45 cm
Spread 15.7 in
Spacing 40 cm
Spacing & sowing
- Plant spacing
- 15.7 in
- In-row spacing
- 15.7 in
- Between rows
- 19.7 in
- Square-foot density
- Not suited to SFG
Growing
- Type
- Grass · Perennial
- Botanical family
- Mixed / other
- Sunlight
- Full sun to partial shade; the color is best in full sun.
- Watering
- Keep it evenly moist, especially through the first season.
- Feeding
- Barely any feeding — a light compost mulch in spring covers it.
- Frost tolerant
- Yes
- Flowering
- July
- Pruning
- Cut to ground level in early spring — never in autumn.
- Overwintering
- Hardy to around -10°C, though the crown is worth protecting in cold sites.
Through the year
- Apr–Jul Spring Growth
- Jul–Oct Flowering
- Oct–Nov Growing
- Nov–Dec Leaf Fall
- Jan–Apr Leaf Fall
Pests & problems
- All-green reverts — take them out at once, since the wild form is invasive.
- Too little sun and the red coloration fades.
- Not reliably hardy in cold, exposed sites — it may want winter protection.
The Cottage Garden Companion — the gardener's herbarium at cottagegardencompanion.com