I bought a plant last fall because I like the fact that it is one of the "smaller" Panicums on the market. Mine seems quite happy and is about 3-4" high now. Panicums are a warm-weather grass, so they are just starting to grow here.

That's a nice starting assortment.

Suggestions for the Atlanta Area (but might work in other parts of Georgia as well) ------------------------------------------------- Annuals: Balsam -- Impatiens capensis or I. pallida Blue daze -- Evolvulus glomeratus 'Blue Daze' Cardinal climber vine -- ?? Cleome Cosmos Dusty miller -- Artemisia stelleriana, Centaurea cineraria or Lychnis coronaria Fan flower -- Scaveola Globe Amaranth -- Gomphrena Lantana Moonflower -- Ipomoea alba Marigold -- Tagetes Purslane -- Portulaca Runner beans -- Phaseolus coccineus Salvia Sunflowers -- Helianthus Zinnia ---------------------------------------------- Annual and Biennial Herbs: Basil -- Ocimum Dill -- Anethum Parsley -- Petroselinum --------------------------------------------- Perennials: Ammi Anise hyssop -- Agastache foeniculum Balloon flower -- Platycodon Baths pinks -- Dianthus gratianopolitanus 'Bath's Pink' Becki Daisies -- Leucanthemum Blackeyed susan -- Rudbeckia Brazilian Verbena -- Verbena brasiliensis Calla lily -- Zantedeschia Creeping raspberry -- Rubus Daylily -- Hemerocallis Gallardia (Goblin) Gaura Goldenrod (Fireworks) -- Solidago Hardy hibiscus -- Hibiscus moscheutos Lamb's ear -- Stachys Maiden grass -- Adiantum capillus Mexican bush sage -- Salvia leucantha Mouse ear -- Cerastium Queen Anne's Lace -- Daucus carota Russian Sage -- Perovskia Rose -- Rosa Salvia (May Night, Blue Hill) -- Salvia x superba Shasta daisies (of all kinds) -- Leucanthemum Tickseed -- Coreopsis ------------------------------------------ Perennial Herbs: Creeping thyme -- Thymus praecox Curry plant -- Helichrysum italicum Horehound -- Ballota Oregano -- Origanum Rosemary -- Rosmarinus Sage -- Salvia Thyme -- Thymus Tricolor sage -- Salvia officinalis 'Tricolor' ------------------------------------------------ Shrubs: Burning bush -- Euonymus Butterfly bush -- Buddleja or Buddleia Caryopteris Cotoneaster dammeri Crepe myrtle -- Lagerstroemia Forsythia Indian hawthorne -- Rhaphiolepis indica Kleim's hardy gardenia -- Gardenia jasminoides 'Kleim's Hardy' a.k.a. Daisy Otto Luken laurel -- Prunus laurocerasus 'Otto Luyken' or "Otto Luken' Pee Gee Hydrangea -- Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora Rose -- Rosa Rose of sharon -- Hibiscus syriacus Witch hazel -- Loropetalum ----------------------------------------------- Trees: Crepe Myrtle -- Lagerstroemia Chaste Tree -- Vitex Seven Sons Flower -- Heptacodium miconioides Saucer magnolia -- Magnolia x soulangiana

Panicum is a warm season grass, meaning that it doesn't really start growing until weather warms sufficiently in late spring or early summer. I'd suspect that when you purchased them last spring, they had been encouraged into earlier than typical growth by being grown in a greenhouse and this season they are just following their more normal growth habit. You are correct in assuming the laxity you noticed being due to a richer planting mix. US native ornamental grasses tend to flourish in rather poor soils and rich soils tend to encourage rapid, lush growth that can result in floppier plants.