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Grass · Poaceae Draft — unreviewed

Shenandoah switchgrass

Panicum virgatum‘Shenandoah’ L.

Also called red switchgrass.

Compact switchgrass whose leaf tips turn red in summer and burgundy by fall, with airy seed panicles. Handles both wet and dry soils.

Size over time

Typical landscape size 0.9–1.2 m (3–4 ft) tall and 0.6–0.9 m (2–3 ft) wide; medium growth, about 3 years to maturity. Intermediate sizes use the planner’s growth curve (k = 0.25) from the #1 install size.

00.511.52mPlanting0.3 × 0.3 mYear 30.7 × 0.5 mYear 101.0 × 0.7 mMature1.1 × 0.8 m

Design notes

  • Clump-forming; cut back in late winter.
  • Taller cultivars ('Northwind', 'Heavy Metal') make tall screens.

Regions

Native range: Most of North America east of the Rockies, plus Arizona and New Mexico (species).

Native to these OpenLandscape3D pilot regions:

NortheastSoutheastSouthwest

Native status describes where the species occurs naturally. It is not a promise that it suits a particular garden; site conditions decide that.

Related plants

Little bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium · Grass · 0.6–1.2 m (2–4 ft)
Northern sea oats
Chasmanthium latifolium · Grass · 0.6–1.2 m (2–4 ft)
Pink muhly grass
Muhlenbergia capillaris · Grass · 0.6–0.9 m (2–3 ft)
Common yarrow
Achillea millefolium · Perennial · 0.5–0.9 m (1–3 ft)
Butterfly weed
Asclepias tuberosa · Perennial · 0.5–0.8 m (1–2 ft)
Blue grama
Bouteloua gracilis · Grass · 0.3–0.6 m (1–2 ft)

Plan with Shenandoah switchgrass

Place it in a design, check it against your zone, light and moisture, and see it at year three and year ten.

Start designing Try a sample garden