switchgrass
Panicum virgatum
USDA zones3 to 9
SunHandles full sun to partial shade
WaterHandles dry to wet soil
Size3 to 6 feet tall2 to 3 feet wide
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Habit
- Grass/grass-like
- Bloom season
- Spring, summer, autumn, winter
- Bloom color
- Green , brown
- Foliage color
- Green
- Soil types
- Sand, loam, clay, chalk
- Soil pH
- Acid, alkaline, neutral
Garden uses
Attracts
Notes
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is a grass for meadows, rain gardens, and winter interest, and it also works as a specimen. It is hardy to USDA zone 3, or down to -40°F (-40°C). This plant likes full sun to part shade and dry to wet soil of most types. It is not a favorite of deer, though hungry deer will eat almost anything. It forms large clumps of bright green leaves that turn bright yellow in fall. The yellow clumps last through winter, and songbirds eat the seeds.
Pairs well with Wild bergamot, Great blue lobelia, and Prairie dropseed.
Native range
North America.