Switchgrass

Switchgrass is a common grass of low areas, prairies, glades and savannas. Switchgrass can be grouped as upland or lowland which gives an idea on where a given variety may be suited. Upland varieties tend to be shorter and are found on drier sites. Lowland switchgrass is found in wet areas such as river bottoms and wet prairies and tends to be taller due to more pronounced stems. Switchgrass is adaptable to a wide variety of sites and handles dry conditions as well as flooding. This species is one of the earliest maturing native warm season grasses. This trait makes it useful as part of an overall grazing system to bridge the forage gap from introduced cool season grasses such as tall fescue to other native warm season grasses like big bluestem and indiangrass.

Planting date: Dormant seeding, November – February                                                       

No Stratification needed.

  Spring planting, April – Early June

•   Height:  36-72 inches tall
•   Moisture: wet to dry
•   Sun Exposure: Full
•   Planting Rate: 5-8 pounds per acre