Seedling switchgrass seedlings (like most perennial grasses) are slow-growing and not highly competitive.  The stand above was drilled into a stale seedbed with glyphosate applied immediately before planting to control emerged weeds, leaving a "clean" seedbed with no competition for switchgrass seedlings.
Images above: About three weeks after planting, as the seedlings are emerging.
Left: a good stand. Center: a poor stand.  Right: a good stand, close up.

The stand above was drilled into a stale seedbed without herbicide.  Weeds compete with switchgrass seedlings.
Images above were about three weeks after planting, as the seedlings were emerging. The two images on the right show a simple way to sample stand density to determine the number of seedlings per square foot and the uniformity of the stand.  A cattle panel was used to provide small sub sampling areas to facilitate counts.  At this stage it is desirable to have 5 to 10 healthy seedlings per square foot.  As the plants age, the density will decline to less than one plant per square foot while maintaining yield. 

The images above represent switchgrass about a month after planting into a stale seedbed.  Seed of some varieties are are much stronger than other varieties.  Such a difference is not necessarily a varietal trait; it may be the conditions under which seed was produced and/or conditioned.

A ground level view of a weed-free seedling switchgrass stand about a month after planting.  Seedlings of some varieties develop quicker than others.

Left and center:  Many warm-season weeds compete with switchgrass seedlings if weeds are not controlled.  This level of competition may smother the switchgrass seedlings under some conditions but not always.
Right:  This illustrates the amount of growth from planting to early October (first year) that can be expected under nearly ideal conditions.  As contrasted to the more typical drilled stand, this one is in rows and cultivated as part of the weed control.  Much more growth is expected in subsequent years.

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