'Forestburg' Switchgrass Seeds

'Forestburg' Switchgrass is a warm-season, deciduous, perennial bunchgrass offering nearly year-round interest. An early maturing and long-lived native ornamental grass, 'Forestburg' is shorter and has finer leaves than southern varieties. In midsummer to early fall, a multitude of airy, pink-tinged plumes with inconspicuous flowers enhance the pillar of blue-tinted medium-green blades as they turn wheat color in fall. The multi-branched plumes persist into winter, turning beige as they mature into lacy billowing seed heads, lending winter interest to the garden and providing a welcome late-season food source for songbirds and upland gamebirds. The flower plumes can be used in fresh or dried arrangements.

A Panicum virgatum cultivar, commonly called switchgrass, tall prairie grass, or tall panic grass, 'Forestburg' is an herbaceous plant with an erect, clump-forming habit and rapid growth rate. The plant also slowly spreads by short rhizomes and, under ideal conditions, by self-seeding. 'Forestburg' Switchgrass makes a stunning vertical accent, but planted in mass, it creates a beautiful structural backdrop in beds and is effective as a screen or as erosion control. This switchgrass can also be grown in boggy areas around ponds and water features. It provides good nesting habitat and cover for many different types of wildlife. 'Forestburg' Switchgrass can be used for pasture mixes, range seeding, and biofuel production.

Cold hardy, low maintenance, and relatively trouble free, 'Forestburg' Switchgrass 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 environments. Once established, this bunchgrass can withstand drought and extreme cold. It is deer, air pollution, and black walnut resistant. In late winter to early spring, cut it back to the ground if desired. Do not fertilize or plants will tend to flop.

A native plant, 'Forestburg' Switchgrass is indigenous to North America, including most of the U.S., growing naturally in prairies, open woods, and gravel bars and along stream banks. Switchgrass is one of the dominant species of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. 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.