It's a Pennisetum (Fountain Grass), and from the coloring of the blooms and width of the blades, looks like Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Moudry,'AKA Black-Seeded Fountain Grass.

It's a beauty. I have some one year olds in my garden but no flowers. Maybe next year.

I have another question. I think with ornamental grasses, usually the fluffy things that form the heads, get fluffier, and dry. These are the seeds (right?).
But when I was playing with these heads today, some little fine brownish things fell out. Are these seed? Or do I still wait for the fluffy heads to dry and fluff fall off?
Tammy

The "bristles" that are on top of the plant are the seeds. Let them dry completely before removing from the plant. They will require almost no force to remove when ripe. I harvested seeds from Mouldry at Christmas and sowed them in spring (sow the chaff and seeds). I have a couple of decent sized clumps now. My seeds were "acquired" from the Morris Arboretum in Chestnut, Hill PA.

These are quite easy to grow from seed. Good luck and have fun.

PC

Here's what Pennisetum seeds look like:

As you can see, the actual seed is really a small part of the whole affair. The bristles are the mechanism used to spread the seed. They get caught by the wind, animal hair and sweater sleeves, and are broadcast far and wide.

I separate the seed from the rest, one at a time. A light squeeze between finger and thumb nail, at the forward end of the carrier, and the seed squirts out neatly. Usually, more than half of the seeds are incompletely developed, and will never germinate.

Donn, thanks so much for the pick. That expalins it all. Tammy

Does that make 'Moudry' an invasive grass?

It can reseed, but if you deadhead it before the seed ripens, no problem.

I have had mine for several yrs ( at least 4 yrs) at the edge of my pond. This is the first yr I have 2 new plants not where I put them. Not too bad