The Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass, otherwise known as the Panicum Virgatum ‘Cheyenne Sky’ Plant Patent #23,209 or Switch Grass ‘Hanse Herms’, Panicum ‘Hanse Herms’, Panicum virgatum ‘Haense Herms’, is a rather well known ornamental grass plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and moderate growth, this ornamental grass will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its multicolored colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, taking care of your Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass is not too difficult – as long as you follow our guidelines in this Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass Care Guide. Now let’s get started.
The basic care guidelines you need to remember for your Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass are the following:
- Water: The Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass wants regular watering to enhance fruit production but as a landscape plant, too much water will be a problem.
- Light: Keep your Panicum Virgatum ‘Cheyenne Sky’ Plant Patent #23,209 in an environment where it can receive partial to full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
And that’s practically it! If you keep these three factors in check, your Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass will likely have all it needs for it to survive and even thrive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass belongs to the Poaceae family, the genus Panicum and the species Virgatum, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Panicum Virgatum ‘Cheyenne Sky’ Plant Patent #23,209 (PAN-ih-kum vir-GA-tum).
Other popular Poaceae plants include species like Clump-Forming Bamboo, Fagus Sylvatica ‘Rotundifolia’, Virginia Bluebells, Japanese Forest Grass ‘Alboaurea’, Korean Feather Reed Grass, Exochorda ‘Blizzard’, Calamagrostis X Acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’, Golden Japanese Forest Grass, Japanese Silver Grass ‘Strictus’, Eulalia ‘Morning Light’, Phyllostachys Aurea and Avalanche Feather Reed Grass.
As with other Panicum’s, the Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass is a herbaceous plant, which means it will die back to the ground every year.
Growing Region
The Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass is a plant native to the North America.
Knowing your plant’s native region is very useful, as it can give you tips on which environment is best for your Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass. If you keep it in mind, you can try to replicate these conditions at home, and you’ll likely end with a healthier plant.
With this in mind, the Panicum Virgatum ‘Cheyenne Sky’ Plant Patent #23,209 will be most used to the heat zones in the 1 – 9 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 5a, 5b, 6b, 6a, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9b, 9a and the ideal climate zone is between 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, how big does the Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass actually get? What should you expect in terms of size? Let’s dive right in…
The Panicum Virgatum ‘Cheyenne Sky’ Plant Patent #23,209 can grow up to 3′ – 4′ (90cm – 120cm) in 3′ – 4′ (90cm – 120cm) and 2′ – 3′ (60cm – 90cm) in 2′ – 3′ (60cm – 90cm).
These dimensions make the Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass a relatively medium ornamental grass compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 36″ (90cm) free so the Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Panicum Virgatum ‘Cheyenne Sky’ Plant Patent #23,209 wants regular watering to enhance fruit production but as a landscape plant, too much water will be a problem.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has moist, occasional flooding, occasionally dry, and occasionally wet properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
But, if you want a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to watering your Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass then you should consider the famous ‘finger’ test. To perform this test, you just need to put your finger in your plant’s soil and determine if it’s moist or not. If it is, then don’t water; if it isn’t, then please do. In any case, this test will allow you to know if your Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass needs or does not need water, every time.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass prefers to have soil with moist, occasional flooding, occasionally dry, and occasionally wet properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
This is why most experts agree that the Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass requires soil with clay, and sand, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass requires partial to full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this ornamental grass will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Panicum Virgatum ‘Cheyenne Sky’ Plant Patent #23,209 in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being a herbaceous plant, the Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass will die back to the ground every year.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the summer (early, mid, late), the fall, and during the winter.
Flowers
You can expect your Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass to flower around the summer, fall and in the winter months from July to September (summer), from October to December (fall) and from January to March (winter).
In particular, this ornamental grass is well known for its showy plumes around the plant enthusiast community.
The Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass produces some beautiful purple, or purple/lavender, gold/yellowpink, and red/burgundy flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass have a beautiful multicolored color during most of the year.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass is well known for being able to attract butterflies and birds, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Additionally, it has a special tolerance for wet soil, dry soil, drought and animals like deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Panicum Virgatum ‘Cheyenne Sky’ Plant Patent #23,209 will be fine.
Garden
Now, let’s talk garden and how your Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass will look best in it.
Most Panicum Virgatum ‘Cheyenne Sky’ Plant Patent #23,209 owners agree that this ornamental grass will look great in most contemporary and rustic gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage, and in prairie and meadow styles.
In particular, the Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass’s best location within your garden is in hedges and screens, beds and borders, and in ponds and streams, others use it for landscaping in a mass planting, coastal exposure, erosion control, or a woodland garden.
Companion Plants
Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Gaillardia, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Coreopsis will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
So that’s it! These are the main plant care requirements that you need to keep in mind in order to have a healthy Cheyenne Sky Switch Grass in your garden or home.
