Shenandoah Switch Grass

Shenandoah Switch Grass is a dense fast-growing ornamental grass native to the prairies of North America.  The stiff upright medium green foliage with red tips that darken in summer and turns tan with rich burgandy tips for fall.  In mid-summer stems holding airy clusters of tiny pink-tinged flowers raise above the foliage like a cloud which turn brown in fall and persist through winter.  Prefers part sun and moist well-drained soils.  

MAINTENANCE NEEDS:  Low maintenance plant. Too much shade will lose its upright form.  Beetles and mites are occasional problems.  Root and crown rot may occur in poorly drained soils. Some susceptibility to rust.

LANDSCAPE USES: Accents or Group Plantings, Borders, Naturalized Areas, Woodland Garden, Wildlife Gardens, Bog Gardens, Rock Gardens, and Containers.

COMPANION PLANTS: Blanket Flower, Salvia, Tickseed

IMAGE: peganum from Small Dole, England, Panicum virgatum Shenandoah - Flickr - peganum (2), CC BY-SA 2.0

*As plants have ranges in appearance they may not appear as the images shown.