Panicum virgatum 'Prairie Winds® Cheyenne Sky' (Red Switchgrass) Unity Grown

Panicum virgatum 'Cheyenne Sky' is a is a cultivar of Panicum virgatum in the Prairie Winds series by Proven Winners, which seeks to "add graceful texture and movement to the garden." The 'Cheyenne Sky' cultivar is noted for its tight, vase-like growth form and upright blue-green foliage that turns to shades of wine-red in early summer. Further depth is added to the color as fine, wine-red flower heads appear in late summer.

This cultivar typically grows to a compact height of about 2 feet tall, but flower heads can bring its total height to about 3 feet tall through the end of summer. Slightly more compact than some Panicum virgatum cultivars, 'Cheyenne Sky' also makes for a great container plant since it spread to only about 18" wide. All switchgrass cultivars are noted for their persistent upright form, and 'Cheyenne Sky' retains its column-like behavior throughout the growing season and into the winter, when it is used as a valuable source of food and shelter by birds and small mammals.