Panicum virgatum
Growing Information
• Plant Type: Grass
• Sunlight: Full Sun, part
• Soils: Dry, average
• Bloom Time: Purplish in summer and early fall
• Size: 2-5 feet in height; 2-4 foot spread
A robust, warm season bunchgrass, switchgrass is best used as a striking accent in landscapes. Seed heads are an airy cloud in late summer with golden fall foliage. Very drought tolerant once established. Rigid stems stand upright throughout the winter. Grasses give movement to the garden design. Cultivars, “Shenandoah” and “Cape Breeze”, are commonly found at retail nurseries.
Garden Companions
Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida), Goldenrods (Solidago species), Aromatic Aster (Symphotrichum oblongifolium).
Nature Benefits
• Seeds are eaten by ground-feeding songbirds and game birds.
• Provides cover and nesting material for birds.
• Host for most banded skipper butterflies and the Delaware skipper.
• Deer resistant.
Native Habitat
Occurs along roadsides and upland pond edges.