Panicum virgatum 'Thundercloud'

Switch Grass


Photo courtesy of Prides Corner Farms

  • Lush, blue-green foliage
  • Pinkish-tan panicles in late summer
  • Tall and upright
  • Provides winter interest
Border or Bed
Border or Bed
Cold Tolerant
Cold Tolerant
Container
Container
Cut Flower/ Foliage
Cut Flower/ Foliage
Dried Flower/ Foliage
Dried Flower/ Foliage
Drought Tolerant
Drought Tolerant
Garden
Garden



Homeowner Growing and Maintenance Tips:

Prefers average, medium to wet, sandy or clay soil and full sun to partial shade. Tolerates a wide range of soils and occasional flooding. Plants may flop in overly rich soils. Spreads by creeping rhizomes and can be aggressive. Cut back old foliage to the ground in late winter or early spring. May self-seed in good growing conditions. Plants can be divided every few years in early spring.


Height: 7-8 ft
Spread: 2-3 ft
Price Level 1: $29.99~#2
Bloom Color: Pink
Zone: 4-9
 

Additional Characteristics & Attributes:


Attributes:

  • Great Foliage
  • Cut Flower/ Foliage
  • Fall Color
  • Low Maintenance
  • Salt Tolerant
  • Focal Point
  • Garden
  • Border or Bed
  • Dried Flower/ Foliage
  • Summer Bloomer
  • Ornamental Grass
  • Native
  • Mass Planting
  • Container
  • Drought Tolerant
  • Cold Tolerant
  • Naturalizing

Critter Resistance:

  • Deer Resistant
  • Rabbit Resistant

Exposure:

  • Full Sun
  • Partial Sun

Habit:

  • Upright

Foliage Color:

  • Yellow
  • Blue

Season of Interest (Flowering):

  • Fall
  • Summer
  • Winter

Attracts Wildlife:

  • Attracts Pollinators
  • Attracts Songbirds
  • Attracts Butterflies

Soil Moisture:

  • Wet Soil/Wetlands
  • Dry Soil
  • Moist, Well-Drained
  • Keep Well-Watered
  • Average Water


Genus Overview: Panicum

Common Name: Switch Grass

Clump-forming ornamental grass with a stiff, columnar habit and medium green leaves turning yellow, sometimes with orange tints in fall, fading to tan-beige in winter. Finely-textured, pink-tinged flower panicles bloom in mid-summer, turning beige in fall as seeds mature and persist into winter. Great mass planted, in perennial borders, as a screen or in naturalized areas.