1 GALLON POT

SWITCH GRASS

ZONE 4

FULL SUN

Switch grass is one of the easiest and most attractive ornamental grasses, with no tendency to spread or become troublesome. Usually attractive in the garden all winter long. Flowers are good cutting, fresh or dried. Trim back to the ground in early spring. Drought tolerant once established.

NORTHWIND

Perennial Plant of the Year 2014! A very strong upright grower with wide, steel blue foliage. Flower panicles occur in the middle of the clump, appearing as a hovering red haze. Foliage turns golden-yellow in the fall.

Flower Colour – Reddish

Foliage Colour – Blue-green

Bloom Time – August

Height – 7 ft.

Space – 24

Perennial Plant Association’s Plant of the Year 2014; Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit

Panicum ‘Northwind’ is a warm-season, deciduous, perennial grass offering year-round interest. A long-lived native ornamental grass, bold and bodacious, ‘Northwind’ retains a striking upright, columnar form throughout the season. In late summer to early fall, a multitude of airy, pink-tinged white flower plumes enhance the pillar of olive to bluish green blades as they turn wheat color in fall. The multi-branched plumes persist into winter, turning beige as the showy billowing seed heads mature, lending winter interest to the garden and providing a welcome late-season food source for birds.

A Panicum virgatum cultivar, commonly called switchgrass, ‘Northwind’ is an herbaceous grass with an erect, narrow, clump-forming habit and moderate growth rate. Rhizomatous, the plant slowly spreads. Panicum ‘Northwind’ makes a stunning vertical accent plant, but planted in mass, it creates a beautiful structural backdrop in beds and is effective as a screen and as erosion control. This switchgrass can also be grown in boggy areas around ponds and water features.

Cold hardy, low maintenance, and relatively trouble free, Panicum ‘Northwind’ prefers full sun to part shade and moist, sandy or clay soils but tolerates a wide range of growing conditions, including wet, dry, and salty conditions. Do not fertilize or plants will flop. Once established, it can withstand drought and extreme cold. In late winter to early spring, cut back the plant to the ground if desired. Deer and black walnut resistant.

A native plant, Panicum ‘Northwind’ is indigenous to North America. Native plants are not only beautiful but also environmentally friendly. Naturally adapted to the climate and soil conditions of the region, they thrive without fertilizers or extra watering, once established. They also act as natural pest controls, reducing the need for pesticides in the garden. Landscaping with native plants promotes biodiversity and provides shelter and quality food for wildlife and pollinators, bringing gardens to life.