Dividing Red Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’ Red Switchgrass - October 2024
In October of 2021, I bought and planted a single Shenandoah Red Switchgrass down by the sidewalk - IB2DWS . It was an end-of-the-season #FallPlanting purchase and I put it in that spot because the description said that Panicum are well-known for being 'drought tolerant' . This was a VERY hard-to-grow spot with harsh conditions: hot concrete on two sides, competitive mature tree roots and gravely soil. It went in and hasn't done super well, but...persisted. There's something to be said for persisting in a spot like this was planted. In the years since, I've left it alone. But, as I've learned over the years, ornamental grasses need to be tended-to and do well to be divided every few years. They will end up with 'center rot' and will get rejuvenated when they're divided. I've typically done my ornamental grass dividing in the Fall, so this past weekend, I decided to divide a few - starting with this Shenandoah Switch Grass...