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Warm‐season grasses are increasingly being cultivated in North America for summer forage and biomass production. The cooler temperatures and shorter growing seasons typical of Canadian production areas, are major limiting factors to warm‐season grass production in these areas. This research assessed the morphological development and relationship of growing degree‐days (GDD) to plant morphology and tiller characteristics in nine cultivars of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.; Blackwell, Cave‐in‐Rock, Dakota, Forestburg, Pathfinder, Shelter, Sunburst, ND3743, and New Jersey 50) and in ‘Niagara’ big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Vitman). The study was conducted for three years on a St. Bernard sandy clay loam (Typic Hapludalf) in southwestern Quebec. Stand cover, plant morphology, tiller number, height, and diameter, and leaf number per tiller were all assessed during the season. All entries …