A Native Ornamental Grass With a Unique Color: ‘Purple Tears’ Switchgrass

I happened to be looking in a magazine recently when this caught my center : “ the Piet Oudolf Collection . ” Piet begin as a graphic designer and plantsman in Hummelo , Netherlands . His gardens use tidy sum of American aboriginal plant life , yet they do n’t quite look like our designer ’ landscape . He has created legion prominent gardens in Europe , and he has been instrumental in creating the High Line in New York City and the Lurie Garden in Chicago . As I looked over the plant aggregation with his name on it , I became intrigued with ‘ Purple Tears ’ switchgrass .

The foliage of this grass is light immature , and in later summer to early fall you will be beguiled to see gray - tipped flowering spike with a distinctive purple seed oral sex . It tend to be a leaden boo-boo , which makes it even more showy . The use is upright , but with the seed head it change by reversal into a great see - through plant .

Switchgrass materialise to be my go - to tall grass for the back of a border , but ‘ Purple Tears ’ only gets around 3 pes marvelous ( 4 foot when it is in bloom ) , so it fit the eyeshade in almost any sunny border site . Piet like to use liberal expanse of plant , but for most of us , three to five plants is enough to emphasize the outstanding color line between the leaves and the seeds — and to get all the exciting social movement that big locoweed provide . The refined swaying with the slightest breeze is dependable verse in movement .

‘ Purple Tears ’ is a quick - time of year dope that fill the requirement of most gardener : it is comfortable to raise . It can take sun or partial nuance , it can thrive in grime that is dampish or juiceless as long as it ’s well drained , it plays flopsy and mopsy when you overfertilize or overwater , and it require no special care in wintertime . Does n’t this sound like a perfect tyro ’s plant or a plant that will boom with benignant neglect ? It is so adaptable and usable that it can develop anywhere from a parking sight to a rainfall garden . Now that ’s unfeigned flexibility for designers and homeowners . All gardeners roll in the hay plant like this .

‘Purple Tears’ switchgrass (Panicum virgatum‘Purple Tears’)

Zones:4–10Conditions : Full sun ; well - drained soilNative stove : Dutch selection of North American species

Stephanie Cohen has spent most of her life trialing , speak about , and teaching all thing plants . The writer of several Good Book , she lecture extensively around North America .

Sources•Digging Dog Nursery , Albion , CA ; 707 - 937 - 1130 ; diggingdog.com•Plant More Natives , Richmond , VA ; plantmorenatives.com

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