Totem Pole Switch Grass - June 2022

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Earlier this Spring, I was concerned about our lone Totem Pole Switch Grass because it didn't seem to show any growth.  Turns out, it is a slow-starter.  Here's a post from mid-May when it had just started to emerge for the first time about three or four weeks behind other ornamental grasses.  One month later, the grass is above my knees and is putting out some serious blades.  No seed tips (just yet), but plenty of greenish-blue ornamental grass blades.  See below for the current state:


This is planted behind the troubled Norway Maple and seems to have figured out how to co-exist with some hard-to-grow conditions: a dense root mat from the Norway Maple tree + clay soil + hydrophobic mulch + quite a bit of sun + mostly drought(ish) conditions.  

Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA

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