Northwind Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum 'Northwind')
Northwind Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum 'Northwind') is a stiffly upright native prairie grass for USDA zones 5–9 in our library (many nurseries list 4–9). It wants full sun (tolerates part sun), reaches about 4–5 ft tall and 2–3 ft wide, and is typically spaced 2.5–3 ft apart. Check your ZIP on our hardiness finder before you buy—microclimates still matter.
- USDA zones
- 5–9
- Sun
- full sun, part sun
- Height / width
- 4–5′ · 2–3′
- Spacing
- 2.5–3′
- Type
- grass · columnar · deciduous
Our library lists zones 5–9; many nurseries list 4–9.
What it is
A stiffly upright native prairie grass that holds in wind, so it fits a screen or a repeating column in a yard — not a clump that leans after the first storm. Olive-blue blades turn golden yellow in fall and keep that structure into winter.
Hardiness and sun
Our library lists USDA zones 5–9 for this cultivar, in full sun (it tolerates part sun). Nursery tags often say 4–9, which is a wider band than we will claim. A sheltered city courtyard is not the same winter as an open hill two miles away — check your ZIP before you buy.
Enter your ZIPSize and spacing
Plan for about 4–5′ of height and 2–3′ of width at maturity. Space plants 2.5–3′ apart — that gap is the mature clump, not the nursery pot. Use those numbers when you are drawing a bed.
How to grow it
Give it full sun. Skip extra fertilizer and soggy soil: both push soft, floppy growth. Once established it handles drought. Leave the stems standing through winter; cut them to the ground in late winter or early spring, just before new growth.
It spreads by short rhizomes rather than running. Plant at the spacing in the table so mature clumps touch without crowding.