Grasses often add a wispy, natural tone to native gardens, and one of the easiest for just about any landscape is Little Bluestem. It looks great en masse and likewise does a nice job staying put as a single specimen.
With Little Bluestem, gardens come to life. Not only is Little Bluestem a larval host for the Crossline Skipper, which feeds only on grasses and is recommended for conservation status, but about a dozen other lepidoptera depend on this grass as a food source. You'll also find songbirds scrounging for its seeds.
Cut to ground in early spring to promote new growth.
Fun fact: Little Bluestem was the Perennial Plant Association's Perennial of the Year for 2022, described as: "an ever-changing kaleidoscope of gray-green, blue, pink, purple, copper, mahogany, red, and orange tones."
Little Bluestem
- Latin: Schizachyrium scoparium
- Pollinator Value: High
- Height: 2-4 feet tall and wide
- Spacing: 2-3 feet
- Light: Full sun
- Soil: Medium to dry
- Bloom: Purple/bronze racimes, August
- Foliage: Bluish in summer; orange-yellow fall persists through winter
- Landscape: Butterfly, native, pollinator gardens; provides year-round cover for wildlife
- Native range here