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Plant · P-010
Heavy Metal Switchgrass
Panicum virgatum
A columnar, upright ornamental grass grown for stiff, metallic-blue summer foliage that turns gold in fall and fades to tan through winter, when the seed heads and standing stems keep working as habitat. A slow, clump-forming spreader with deep, fibrous roots, it tolerates both dry and occasionally wet ground and needs full sun to hold its upright form - shade or overly rich soil makes it flop open.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun · Partial Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 5–9
- Soil
- Sand · Silt · Loam · Clay
- Moisture
- Dry · Moderate · Moist · Wet
Vertical layer
Herbaceous- Soil pH
- 6–8
- Plant type
- Grass
- Mature height
- 4–5 ft
- Mature spread
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The deeper layer