Totem Pole Switch Grass - Front Bed - Spring 2021

I first spotted something called a Totem Pole grass at Hinsdale Nursery earlier this year.  It was billed as a grass that can get to six feet tall.  I was intrigued.  So, when I saw this Prairie Winds Totem Pole Switch Grass at the Morton Arboretum Spring sale, I knew I had to buy one.  (I know, I know...I shouldn't ever buy ONE of anything.  But, I broke *that* rule for this grass due to the size and sun requirement. )

In the photo below, you can see this grass in the nursery container in a spot in the bed kind of tucked behind the tulips and the Norway Maple tree and kind of straight out from the corner of our screened porch.  

Here, below, is the front/back of the tag:

The back of the tag reads:

A sturdy, durable ornamental grass that withstands adverse weather conditions.  Grey-green leaves form a strictly upright column of steel blue foliage.  Golden seed heads in fall.  

And...note the 72" height listed at the top of the back of the tag.

Walter's Garden has a listing up for this Prairie Winds cultivar here.  

The location of this grass is a tough spot for our landscape.  It is dry, hot and not great soil.   It also has some issues with drainage as our downspouts come out around here and due to the incline, there's a lot of mulch float.  The erosion that takes place here every year has been problematic, so I've decided to plant some things in an attempt to reduce that erosion - including this grass.  

If you look at the very top photo in this post, you'll see that I planted some Lemon Coral Sedum on the edge of this bed last year - for erosion control.  I also planted six sacrificial blue Rush grasses 'upstream' from this Totem Pole grass for the very same reason:  erosion control.

We haven't had much rain this season and certainly haven't had any BIG storms (yet).  So, it is hard to know if these mitigation plantings have any change to the running water.