Why the Fountain Grass Must Go
Photo: Fountain Grass in Sunland
Fountain Grass (Pennisetum setaceum) is a bunchgrass from Africa that is widely planted as an ornamental plant in portions of the United States with warm winters. It is a tough, vigorous plant that will tolerate adverse conditions of heat and drought. It does not appear to suffer from any pests or diseases, and many people appreciate its graceful seed heads produced in profusion over the spring and summer months.
The downside is that in California, Fountain Grass has no natural enemies and readily out-competes other plants. It is invasive, and if you plant it in your yard, you will soon have seedlings of Fountain Grass popping up wherever there is bare soil. It will even grow in the gaps between sections of concrete. Its seeds are carried long distances in the wind, so if your neighbor has it in their yard, it will eventually end up in yours. If you are in a fire hazard area, it is especially dangerous, as it dries out early in the summer and becomes extremely flammable.
Fountain Grass readily moves in to wild areas and displaces the native plants that would otherwise provide habitat for the birds, butterflies, lizards, and multitude of other creatures that make their homes in this wonderful place we call California. It is more flammable than the native vegetation, and over a longer period of the year, so contributes to more frequent wildfires. When fires occur too frequently, areas of chaparral and coastal sage scrub get converted to weed fields as the native plants don't have enough time to recover between fires.
The City of Los Angeles renovated the Sunland/Tujunga/Shadow Hills entry garden at Sunland Boulevard and Fenwick Street about a decade ago. As specified in the plans, the landscaping was sensible - Oak and Sycamore trees, some flowers around the sign, and some wildflowers in the background. Somewhere along the way, Fountain Grass was substituted for the wildflowers. This invasive exotic plant has taken over where the flowers were planted near the sign, and now obstructs the view of the sign from the street. It has also moved in to the next door neighbor's yard, and it is only a matter of time before it reaches your yard.
It's time to stop this weed. We have an incredible amount of biodiversity in our own backyard. Right here in the Verdugo Hills, there are over 600 kinds of plants documented. Let's renovate this community entrance garden into a showcase of our local flora, using some of these 600+ kinds of plants that clothe our local hills in a mosaic of shrubs and wildflowers that bloom in different colors and at different times throughout the year.
Ricky Grubb and I have obtained permission from the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and the Fond Land Preservation Foundation to collect seeds and cuttings from plants in nearby wild areas, and I now have several hundred plants growing in pots in my yard (they've taken over the front porch and back patio, and will soon be taking over part of the driveway!). We are in the process of adopting this spot from the City, and with help from councilman Krekorian's office, the Theodore Payne Foundation, and FormLA Landscaping, we plan to remove the Fountain Grass and replace it with truly local native plants in the fall. Some of the plants to look forward to in the garden include Ceanothus, Manzanita, Bush Poppy, California Fuchsia, and Wooly Blue Curls. Once the plants get established, the butterflies and hummingbirds will join in to bring the garden alive.
Even though this is a small slice of landscaping, it says a lot about how our community cares about preservation, what a few people can do and and how important it is to restore our public spaces. We look foward to creating the Sunland Welcome Nature Garden in the coming months, and we hope you'll join us in transforming this space from a weed patch into a vibrant showcase of the best of our amazing local flora. Stay tuned for more information!
If you have questions, comments, or would like to know more, please send me email at treehuggers@ca.rr.com.
Roger Klemm
February 2012