As a new gardener I was completely unfamiliar with native plants and grasses. I just knew I wanted/had to garden. So I bought plants that were beautiful, that made me smile and that I loved. Naturally, some of them proved to be aggressive pains in the garden. One of the worst offenders was an ornamental grass. It was absolutely the loveliest sight each fall. But, it had the most annoying habit of seeding its progeny everywhere.
Miscanthus sinensis
You may have guessed that I’m referring to Miscanthus sinensis. It’s long gone from the garden and in its place are equally lovely native grasses.
Panicum virgatum 'Northwind'
I switched to Switchgrass and haven’t looked back since. Panicum virgatum is a native to the tall grass prairies of the Great Plains and all, but, the western most states. It’s an upright, warm season bunching grass that bison, deer and elk grazed. It can still be found growing in ‘remnant prairies’ and along interstates.
It’s an important ornamental grass in native gardens where it provides cover, is a host plant for several skippers and the seeds are food for songbirds. It’s been used for habitat restoration, to counter soil erosion and is being evaluated for use as an alcohol fuel source.
In my suburban garden it’s a companion plant for taller asters, vernonia and other natives and gives small critters cover. In fact, a chipmunk spends a good deal of his time hiding behind it when I step into the garden. Smart chipmunk!
Panicum virgatum 'Northwind'
I have two cultivars that I highly recommend: ‘Northwind’ and ‘Cheyenne Sky’. ‘Northwind’ is without a doubt the most upright grass I’ve ever encountered. Heavy rains have not brought it to its feet. It flops a little then stands back up. It’s been described as olive green that I find a charming color for my garden. It’s a warm season grass, that can be grazed by foraging animals in the spring, but, here in the ‘burbs, it’s a marvelous specimen plant.
‘Cheyenne Sky’ is new to the garden. This small red switchgrass replaces annual Pennisetum ‘Rubrum’. It’s a sturdy little plant at about 3 feet and should remain standing throughout the winter. I’ve read that it can take wet winters and even periods of standing water! That sounds perfect for this garden.
By the way, I never cut grasses down until very early spring. It’s important to give birds and small mammals cover during the coldest days; but, I also love the way grasses look in the snow. Crossed fingers that we have one snow event this winter and the grasses get to put on a show for me, while providing for wildlife.
Panicum virgatum 'Cheyenne Sky'
Gail Eichelberger of Clay and Limestone has a beautiful wildlife garden in Middle Tennessee.
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Oh, how lovely! I just love the way my native grasses look with a backdrop of snow, too. And you are so right about the skippers. So many of them need native grasses like switchgrass to lay their eggs.
Carole recently posted..Creating a Wildlife Garden from Scratch
Carole, I was so glad to discover that skippers laid their eggs on native grasses! Another reason to leave them be till early spring. gail
Gail Eichelberger recently posted..Dear Susans- We need to talk!
Very pretty! Thanks for the variety recommendations. It’s hard sometimes to sort out all the grasses. I’m still trying to recover from a misguided attempt to plant native mistflowers in my garden. They will forever after be known as “accursed mistflowers” for their prolific seedings.
Elizabeth Barrow recently posted..Whats In The Fall Garden
Elizabeth, Glad to help with the grasses. Your ‘accursed mistflower’ is another great colonizing native~Great if you want a colony! Gail
Gail Eichelberger recently posted..Dear Susans- We need to talk!
Such a beautiful ornamental grass…I love their billowy effect and the way the seed heads wave around with the wind. The cultivar Shenandoah is another one sold around here with red-tipped stems…
Is that first photo of switchgrass behind a chokeberry? Lots of berries
Ellen Sousa recently posted..Resurrecting the American Chestnut Tree
Ellen, I love that photo of chokeberry. It was taken before I ripped out all the miscanthus. I’ve noticed that the switchgrasses are starting to turn a lovely yellow; they look smart with New England asters and the chokeberry. Gail
Gail Eichelberger recently posted..Dear Susans- We need to talk!
I love that you’re switching to Switchgrass! We have many Switchgrass types that grow well here, several being native and growing along the roads and in the meadows. I just wrote a post on Grasses in the fall on my Gardening for Nature blog, the link should show up below. They are so beautiful in the fall, and some of them, particularly Heavy Metal and Dallas Blues have wonderful blue tinted blades in the summer.
Kathy Green recently posted..Grasses Steal the Glory in the Fall
Kathy, I loved your post and thought the uses of native grasses were inspiring. I’ve seen heavy metal and Dallas Blues, but not at a nearby garden center! gail
Gail Eichelberger recently posted..Dear Susans- We need to talk!
I can’t wait to see my new switchgrass, Panicum virgatum ‘Ruby Ribbons’, in the snow. I don’t know if it’s as upright as ‘Northwind’, which is such a lovely plant. I’m with you, let’s convert gardeners from Miscanthus to Panicums.
barb, I don’t know Ruby Ribbons~but, will check it out! Yes, let’s see what we can do to get folks to switch to panicums and other gorgeous native grasses! gail
Gail recently posted..Dear Susans- We need to talk!
Gail,
I’ve heard that cultivars of native plants are not good food sources for beneficial insect larvae, like the various skippers. Have you found this to be true with the switchgrass cultivars you’ve planted? Or are the larvae feeding on them? I want to try to plant things that will help our native invertebrates to survive, not just as adults but in the larval stage as well.
Your page is beautiful, thank you.
Ruth, That is such a good question and truthfully, I cannot give you a complete answer. I I garden in the suburbs and many of the larger birds that might benefit from switchgrass are not in my garden. But, I’ve seen cardinals, mourning doves, Juncoes and other birds near the ‘Northwind’ cultivar. It does provide winter cover for small mammals like chipmunks and other rodents. gail
Gail Eichelberger recently posted..The Faux Gardener
Thanks for your reply. I have Lynn Steiner’s book on using native plants in Minnesota (where I live); she advocates using cultivars, and doesn’t mention that they don’t support invertebrates as well. A woman here in Duluth teaches gardening for wildlife and says plants need to have come from within 50 miles of your home in order to support wildlife. . .I know this is not completely true, because I have raised echinacea and two types of milkweed from seed that came from North Carolina, and last summer they were covered with butterfly larvae who were happily munching away.
I think I will try planting two switchgrass plants of the same type — one raised from local seed, one from a non-local nursery, and compare the critters that show up on them.