previous
  • Containers as Focal Points
    Containers as Focal Points
  • Fast-Growing Trees for Impatient Gardeners
    Fast-Growing Trees for Impatient Gardeners
  • NEW Video Series: There's a Better Way
    NEW Video Series: There's a Better Way
  • Elephant's Ears
    Elephant's Ears
  • Make a Succulent Topiary
    Make a Succulent Topiary
  • 6 Tips for Weed Control
    6 Tips for Weed Control
  • Homegrown / Homemade
    Homegrown / Homemade
  • Designing with Curved Terraces
    Designing with Curved Terraces
  • In Pursuit of the Perfect Potting Shed
    In Pursuit of the Perfect Potting Shed
  • Garden Confidential: A Plant Walks into a Bar
    Garden Confidential: A Plant Walks into a Bar
  • Fragrant Plants for Pathways
    Fragrant Plants for Pathways
  • Lawn Alternatives
    Lawn Alternatives
  • Thoughts From a Foreign Field
    Thoughts From a Foreign Field
  • Comfortable Alfresco Dining
    Comfortable Alfresco Dining
  • Save Money by Growing Your Own
    Save Money by Growing Your Own
  • Indeterminate or Determinate Tomatoes?
    Indeterminate or Determinate Tomatoes?
  • Mulch for a Healthy Garden
    Mulch for a Healthy Garden
  • Pretty in Pink
    Pretty in Pink
  • Colorful Selections for Shade
    Colorful Selections for Shade
  • Slideshow: Beautiful Clematis
    Slideshow: Beautiful Clematis
  • Plant an Easy-to-Water Strawberry Jar
    Plant an Easy-to-Water Strawberry Jar
  • Stylish Shady Containers
    Stylish Shady Containers
  • Dwarf Citrus Trees
    Dwarf Citrus Trees
  • Building a Compost Bin
    Building a Compost Bin
  • Plants that Spark!
    Plants that Spark!
next

Panicum virgatum 'Ruby Ribbons' (Switch Grass)

Panicum virgatum 'Ruby Ribbons'


Be the first to rate this plant

Plant Showcase - from our advertisers


Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Botanical Name: Panicum virgatum 'Ruby Ribbons' Common Name: Switch Grass Genus: Panicum
Panicum Ruby Ribbons’ soft blue-green foliage emerges in the spring on upright, clumping plants. The foliage takes on a wine-red color in early summer, which intensifies as the season progresses. Flower heads appear in late summer, followed by ornamental seed heads, which, if left uncut, provide long-lasting winter interest.
Noteworthy characteristics: Red, airy seed heads; blue-green foliage turns burgundy-red in mid-summer.
Care: Water regularly, do not overwater.
Propagation:

By dividing the rootball.


Problems:



Information provided by Santa Rosa Gardens


Height 3 ft. to 6 ft.
Spread 1 ft. to 3 ft.
Growth Habit Clumps
Growth Pace Moderate Grower
Light Full Sun to Part Shade
Moisture Medium Moisture
Maintenance Low
Tolerance Deer Tolerant;Drought Tolerant
Characteristics Showy Foliage; Showy Seed Heads
Bloom Time Early Fall; Late Summer
Foliage Color Colorful/Burgundy Foliage
Flower Color Red Flower
Uses Beds and Borders, Container, Low- Maintenance, Combinations, Sun, Texture, Backyard, Front Yard, Dried Flower, Specimen Plant/ Focal Point
Style Cottage Garden, Meadow Garden, Rock Garden
Seasonal Interest Summer Interest, Fall Interest
Type Grasses,Perennials

Plants you might also like

Bouteloua gracilis 'Hachita' Bouteloua gracilis 'Hachita'
('Hachita' Blue Grama Grass)
(2 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

'Hachita' has narrow, blue-green leaves that form dense mounds. In summer, elongated seedheads add visual interest. This tough, drought-tolerant grass thrives in sand or clay soil with full-sun exposure. It needs a setting with good drainage, as it won't thrive in wet conditions. -Scott Vogt, Native grasses, Fine Gardening issue #124

Pennisetum setaceum 'Fireworks' Pennisetum setaceum 'Fireworks'
(Variegated Purple Fountain Grass)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

A refreshing new look to an old time favorite ornamental grass! Pennisetum ‘Fireworks’ is the first variegated purple fountain grass. The midvein is the typical burgundy color and is flanked by hot pink margins. Produces beautiful red-burgundy foxtail flowers. Great accent plant and excellent in containers. -Santa Rosa Gardens

Calamagrostis × acutiflora 'Karl Foerster' Calamagrostis × acutiflora 'Karl Foerster'
(Karl Foerster's Feather Reed Grass)
(2 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Versatile, attractive and care-free ornamental grass with wheat-like appearance. Slender, upright, deep-green, lustrous foliage becomes effective by early spring and lasts all the way until winter. A cool season grass, 'Karl Foester' is upright and clump forming, with purplish-green, feathery plumes to 6'. It distinctively blooms in early summer rather than fall and must have winter chill to bloom. Long lived -- 25 years or more. -Santa Rosa Gardens

no image available Panicum amarum 'Dewey Blue'
(Bitter switchgrass, Switchgrass)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

A stunning, native dune grass, 'Dewey Blue' is perfect for coastal areas as well as inland gardens. Heat, drought, and humidity won't faze its noticeably graceful habit. This grass has exceptional blue foliage and a vigorous constitution. Airy, light beige flowers emerge in late summer and fall, persisting well into winter for a long season of interest. 'Dewey Blue' grows 4 to 5 feet tall and almost as wide.

Sporobolus heterolepsis Sporobolus heterolepsis
(Prairie dropseed)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

The finely textured, green leaves of this slow-growing, clump-forming perennial turn golden yellow in autumn. It bears cloudy panicles of fragrant, pale-pink to tawny flowers 5 to 10 inches long in late summer, reaching 3 feet tall.