Panicum virgatum
Switchgrass
Family: Poaceae
This stout, tufted, perennial grass usually reaches up to 4-5’ tall in cultivation. Wild plants have been known to get as tall as 8’. Turns red before going dormant in the fall. Florets and seeds are reddish and emerge in fall before the plant starts turning red entirely.
Full to part sun, regular water. Hardy to -30°F. Cut back in February.
The larger seeds of this species are loved by birds. Native grasses are extremely important plants for wildlife: as nesting material for birds as well as native bees and other insects, as habitat for many organisms, and as food: adult insects eat the foliage, and most grass species are used as larval hosts for many species of butterflies and moths, especially skippers. Many bee species collect the pollen of many species of grasses. All can be used for desert tortoise enclosures.
Grasses also play an important role in the ecology of soil, and because they are monocots, they can be planted close to other species of plants (the nature of the root systems of monocots renders them less imposing on neighboring plants). They hold soil down and help prevent erosion. Many species are pioneer plants that convert disturbed soils into hospitable places for other plants.
It is used primarily for soil conservation, forage production, game cover, as an ornamental grass, in phytoremediation projects, fiber, electricity, heat production, for biosequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide, and more recently as a biomass crop for ethanol and butanol.
Native to open woods, prairies, dunes, shores, and brackish marshes; native to Canada, south throughout the United States (including Arizona) and south into Mexico. Switchgrass is one of the dominant species of the central North American tallgrass prairie and can be found in remnant prairies, in native grass pastures, and naturalized along roadsides.
Photo of the ‘Shenandoah’ selection by Mountain States Wholesale Nursery
Panicum comes from the Latin word panis, meaning bread, or panus, meaning "ear of millet” (P. miliaceum, an ancient grain crop known as millet, is responsible for feeding a large portion of the world population.) The species, virgatum, means wand-like. There are 272 species of Panicum native throughout the tropical regions of the world, with a few species extending into the northern temperate zone.
‘Blue Tower’ – up to 8 feet tall in flower, with blue-green leaves selected by Crystal Palace Perennials of Illinois
‘Cloud Nine’ – is a tall selection introduced by former Bluemount Nursery of Maryland that can reach 7-8 feet, with light metallic blue leaves and gold fall color. It makes a good substitute for some of the larger Miscanthus cultivars. Zone 4.
‘Dallas Blues’ – a 5 foot tall selection originally found in Dallas and introduced by Change of Scenery Nursery in Columbus, Ohio. It has powdery blue leaves that turn copper in fall and remain well colored through the winter, and pinkish-purple flower plumes. The leaves are wider than many other cultivars, and plants have a fuller shape and denser flower spikes that appear in distinct layers. It is more drought tolerant than many cultivars. Patented (US PP11,202) in 2000.
‘Heavy Metal’ – a Kurt Bluemel introduction with tightly upright cool blue-green leaves that turn rich amber in fall and fade to light tan by winter. The compact plants are only about three feet tall, with taller flower spikes with strong pink tones, and dark burgundy seeds. Zone 4.
‘Northwind’ – a vigorous, very upright selection by Roy Diblik at Northwind Perennial Farm in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, growing up to 5 feet tall with steel blue foliage that turns tawny gold in fall, and maroon and green flower plumes held incredibly erect above the foliage.
‘Prairie Fire’ – from Amber Wave Gardens, Benton Harbor, Michigan has green foliage that turns shades of deep red in early summer – much earlier than other red cultivars – and butter yellow in fall. The upright clumps grow 4-5 feet tall and 1½-2 feet wide. the leaves curl slightly when the rosy panicles appear. PPAF.
‘Prairie Sky’ – discovered growing wild in a Wisconsin meadow, it is one of the bluest selections (but not as sturdy as some so may flop more in wet conditions) that grows 4-5 feet tall, with silvery inflorescences.
‘Shenandoah’ – a German selection that grows 3½-4 feet tall and has red leaf tips early in the growing season and burgundy fall foliage color with burgundy seedheads.
This is a very deeply rooting grass species, photo by Steve Renich of the Land Institute
What a plant typically looks like in late summer in our region, photo by Max Licher, SEINET
Floral detail, photo by cassi saari, iNaturalist
Fall color, photo by Stephen Fuqua, iNaturalist