Height: 1-4'; 1-2' spread
Light: Full sun
Soil: Medium to dry
Bloom: Purple/bronze racimes in August;
Leaf: Bluish in summer; orange-yellow fall through winter
Maintenance: Cut to ground in early spring to promote new growth
Landscape: Butterfly, native, pollinator gardens
Photo: Matt Lavin
Little Bluestem
Pollinator value: High. Butterfly larval host; nesting and structure bees, butterflies. Songbirds eat the seeds.
Fun fact: Little Bluestem is the Perennial Plant Association's Perennial of the Year for 2022: "Summer through fall, the slender leaves and stems of little bluestem are an ever-changing kaleidoscope of gray-green, blue, pink, purple, copper, mahogany, red, and orange tones. Wispy silver-white seed heads sparkle in autumn sunlight and coppery brown leaves persist through winter."