Switchgrass 'Shenandoah'
Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah' · Poaceae Popular
Green blades turn wine-red from midsummer, topped by a cloud of fine, pink-tinged seed heads. A native prairie grass that copes with both drought and wet spells.
- Size
- 4 ft tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves; flowers late July to mid September
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Accent
A bed built around switchgrass 'Shenandoah'
The planner designed this bed around switchgrass 'Shenandoah' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) contemporary bed in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why switchgrass 'Shenandoah' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Switchgrass 'Shenandoah' × 2, green leaves
- 2 Cottage pinks × 7, white
- 3 Heath aster 'Snow Flurry' × 3, white
- 4 False sunflower 'Summer Sun' × 3, yellow
- 5 Deutzia 'Chardonnay Pearls' × 1, white
- 6 Foxglove beardtongue × 3, white
- 7 Tulip × 12, red
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does deutzia 'Chardonnay Pearls'.
Why here
- Forward of its height. At 4 ft it is taller than deutzia 'Chardonnay Pearls' (2½ ft) behind it, but airy enough to see through.
- 2 plants in 2 places. An accent is a punctuation mark: the repeat along the bed gives it rhythm.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, spring to frost. They cover the 14 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
- Stands through winter. Left uncut, it holds its shape until March, when the perennials have gone.
Planned as a contemporary bed: 28 of the 28 plants that stand in groups (100%) are set out in a pattern with their neighbours: a straight row, a triangle, or five like the five on a dice. In winter there are still switchgrass 'Shenandoah' and cottage pinks to look at. White runs through the planting: 4 of the 6 kinds grown for their flowers have it.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 3 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where switchgrass 'Shenandoah' goes in a border
At 4 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft). It is airy enough to see through, so it can also come forward and veil what is behind it.
Its job: accent. An upright plant used singly, like a punctuation mark, and repeated at intervals to give the bed rhythm.
An upright grass with an airy cloud of seed heads that you can see through. Its wine-red late-summer colour is made for black-eyed Susan and asters. Leave it standing all winter and cut it down in March.
- Red autumn colour and winter structure
- Prairie planting with late daisies
- A light screen at the back of a border
What to plant with switchgrass 'Shenandoah'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Black-eyed Susan: adds the flowers, mid July to mid September; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it.
- New England aster: adds the flowers, early September to mid October.
- Purple coneflower: adds the flowers, late June to early September.
Choosing between it and a look-alike? Little bluestem vs Switchgrass 'Shenandoah'.
Questions about switchgrass 'Shenandoah'
Does switchgrass 'Shenandoah' need sun or shade?
Switchgrass 'Shenandoah' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does switchgrass 'Shenandoah' grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 9. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should switchgrass 'Shenandoah' be planted?
24 in (60 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is about its full width, so each plant keeps its own outline.
It grows 4 ft (120 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many switchgrass 'Shenandoah' plants do I need?
At 24 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 3 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 6 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 10 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one at a time, repeated along the bed at intervals; a slender one reads better as a clump of three.
In the bed above, the planner used two in two groups.
Is switchgrass 'Shenandoah' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat switchgrass 'Shenandoah'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What does switchgrass 'Shenandoah' look like in winter?
Switchgrass 'Shenandoah' turns the colour of straw and, left uncut, stands through the winter, with seed for the birds. Cut it down in late winter, before the new shoots come up.
Is switchgrass 'Shenandoah' good for bees and butterflies?
Switchgrass 'Shenandoah' is visited by songbirds.
It is a host plant: the caterpillars of common wood-nymph feed on its leaves. A butterfly can only lay its eggs on its host plants, so these do more for it than any nectar flower.
It is native to the United States and Canada (this is a named variety of the native plant).
More Panicum
- Bitter switchgrass 'Dewey Blue' Panicum amarum 'Dewey Blue'
- Switchgrass 'Cheyenne Sky' Panicum virgatum 'Cheyenne Sky'
- Switchgrass 'Cloud Nine' Panicum virgatum 'Cloud Nine'
- Switchgrass 'Heavy Metal' Panicum virgatum 'Heavy Metal'
- Switchgrass 'Northwind' Panicum virgatum 'Northwind'
- Switchgrass 'Prairie Sky' Panicum virgatum 'Prairie Sky'
In these guides
- Plants for wet soil and rain gardens
- Salt-tolerant plants for roadsides and coasts
- Plants that grow near black walnut
- Plants for slopes and banks
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Tall perennials and grasses for the back of a border
- Plants with purple and burgundy leaves
- Host plants for the common wood-nymph
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Grass
- Size
- 4 ft (120 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back, or further forward: it is airy enough to see through
- Flowers
- Late July to mid September; airy sprays; pink
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; green, burgundy
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Poaceae
- Comes from
- North America
- Attracts
- Songbirds
- Host plant for
- Common wood-nymph
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought, salt, wet soil, black walnut, pollution, erosion
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.