flower stems create an upright habit above the
mounded foliage.
3-6 feet
The flowers are
borne in a large, finely textured and dainty
panicle which can be 2 feet long. The spikelets are up to
14 inches long. Flowers
are dark red to purple and turn beige as they
mature.
Leaves are 2-3 feet
long, ¾ inch wide and are flat and glabrous. The
culms are up to 5 feet tall. The foliage is
green in summer, changing to yellows and red in
the fall and finally to beige during the winter
months.
'Haense Hermes' - Red foliage color
develops in midsummer and lasts until frost.
The foliage and whitish gray seed heads
create a very attractive contrast. This
cultivar is also more compact at 3-3½ feet
tall.
'Heavy Metal' - This cultivar has stiff,
metallic-blue leaves which create a tight
upright habit. Plant height is 3-4 feet
tall. The foliage turns bright yellow in the
fall.
'Rehbraun' - Red foliage color, 3 feet
tall. The foliage of this cultivar is more
of a reddish-brown rather than bright red.
It is not as attractive as the other
red-leaved types.
'Rotstrahlbusch' - Very red foliage
color which is considered to be the reddest
of all selections.
'Rubrum', Red Switch Grass, 3-4 feet
tall, has foliage tinged with red and with
crimson fall color
'Squaw' - 3-4 feet tall red foliage
switch grass.
'Stricturn' - This is an older cultivar
with blue-green leaves and an upright growth
habit. It is an early bloomer. Plant height
is 5-6 feet tall.
'Warrior' - Tall cultivar with
reddish-brown fall color, 4-5 feet tall.
P. clandestinum - Deer Tongue Grass.
Foliage is unlike switch grass
and resembles bamboo. 3-4 feet tall Zones 5-9.
