Panicum: the best varieties

Panicum virgatum 'Northwind': graphic

Here is the most vertical Panicum there is. The Panicum virgatum ‘Northwind’ features broad leaves standing upright at 1.25 m tall, with a very beautiful grey-green to blue hue, turning yellow and then beige in autumn. The panicles are light in colour, appearing in mid-July, elevating the plant to over 1.60 m in height. ‘Northwind’ is often chosen for its distinctly upright appearance. This very tall habit is much more pronounced when planted in dry soil (rich soils and too much shade tend to cause it to bend more).

Being one of the most drought-resistant Panicums, this erect grass is stunning in contemporary or formal gardens with its clean lines, where it can, for example, creatively partition two spaces, or be planted in a series of 3 or 5 young plants to add rhythm to a graphic border, or even stand alone near a terrace, planted in a dark-coloured designer pot. Paradoxically, it can also integrate very well into a more natural setting due to the very natural aspect of its colours.

Panicum virgatum ‘Northwind’ (© Leonora Enking), right zoom on the remarkable blue-tinged foliage

Panicum virgatum 'Cloud Nine': giant

If this variety may not be the most spectacular in its hues, it is absolutely unrivalled in its dimensions. ‘Cloud Nine’ indeed boasts a clump of nearly 2 m in height during flowering. Its habit is slightly more spreading than others, and the cloud-like inflorescences that appear in August display beautiful golden yellow hues, turning blonde, and finally beige. The foliage, bluish-grey, will evolve to become beige in autumn, rendering the grass entirely parchment-like for the winter months.
This is an interesting variety for large gardens, or for creating a grass hedge. Its impressive stature predisposes Panicum ‘Cloud Nine’ to occupy the background of XXL flowerbeds, or to be used as a windbreak. Like all upright panic grasses, it adapts to any soil, from dry to moist, and enjoys full sun.

Panicum virgatum ‘Cloud Nine’

Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah': an autumn marvel

The Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’ is one of the shorter varieties, yet it still reaches 1.20 m at full flowering. What makes it highly ornamental is its blue-green foliage, which changes quite early in the season, turning violet at the tips, then burgundy to purple, while the lower part remains green. Autumn gradually intensifies these colours, with the plant becoming entirely burgundy, providing a striking appeal to this grass. Its airy and very fine panicles float above the foliage from September, in shades of rosy red, creating a lovely colourful surprise, like a final focal point for autumn. Finally, the entire grass turns beige in winter. This magnificent Panicum will complement a wild meadow, a naturalistic garden, or large borders where it can be planted in groups, always in full sun. It can even be placed near a pond or a marsh, as it is not afraid of cooler soils. ‘Shenandoah’ grows slightly slower than other cultivars, but we forgive it for being so beautiful! Like other Panicum, it requires almost no maintenance, except for a light pruning at the end of winter.

Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’ and Eryngium yuccifolium at Millennium Park in Chicago (© KM)

Panicum virgatum 'Hanse Herms': flamboyant

The variety ‘Hanse Herms’ (also known as ‘Rotstrahlbusch’) features green foliage with a blue underside. The leaves gradually turn reddish at their tips in summer. However, it truly comes into its own in autumn, when it literally turns fiery red, creating an almost incandescent mass. It is undoubtedly one of the most attractive panicums for its late-season colours. Then, the entire clump becomes uniformly beige in winter. Its flowering is also very ornamental, from August to October, resembling a pink cloud that gradually takes on a fawn hue. It forms an upright grass, reaching 1.20 m during flowering, with stems remaining upright even during rain or in winter.

Like the other Panicum in this selection, ‘Hanse Herms’ offers ornamental interest almost all year round, not to mention that its seeds and dense foliage left to dry provide cover and shelter for birds in winter.

Its smaller dimensions compared to ‘Shenandoah’ make this Panicum an ideal candidate for smaller gardens, or even for pot cultivation. ‘Hanse Herms’ can be used as a solitary specimen to punctuate a border, or in groups within a planting scheme.

Panicum virgatum ‘Hanse Herms’

Panicum virgatum 'Dallas Blues': a large blue clump

Another Panicum with beautiful blue foliage, the Panicum virgatum ‘Dallas Blues’! This one is another reliable choice for its incredible steel-blue colour on broader leaves than other varieties (2 to 4 cm), ensuring a striking presence and forming dense clumps. Its panicles are also attractive as they are very large (about 50 cm), and wide, with a colour ranging from purple to copper as autumn approaches.
The foliage takes on a rusty hue in autumn, then the entire grass transforms into a more or less dark beige clump in winter. The ‘Dallas Blues’ panicum grows to about 1.60 m tall with a spread of nearly 1 m at maturity.
Like ‘Northwind’, it is particularly drought-resistant, another of its qualities if one needed to add another… and it is less susceptible to rust than its counterpart ‘Heavy Metal’, another beautiful variety.

Panicum virgatum ‘Dallas Blues’