Little bluestem 'The Blues'

Sun

Full sun; shade weakens the stems and reduces foliage colour.

Water

Water regularly during the first growing season, letting the soil dry between waterings. Established plants tolerate drought and usually need watering only during prolonged dry spells.

Soil

Well-drained soil, including sandy, gravelly or rocky ground. Tolerates clay if it drains freely; avoid wet winter soil and rich, heavily fertilised beds.

Height

2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m)

Spread

1.5-2 ft (0.45-0.6 m)

Flowers

Late summer to autumn; small purplish-bronze flowers develop into fluffy, silvery-white seed heads.

Foliage

Narrow, upright, powder-blue to blue-green leaves, often with purple tints; orange, burgundy and reddish purple in autumn, fading to tan in winter.

Growth

Moderate; starts growing relatively late in spring and grows most actively in warm weather.

Care needed

Low

• Deer resistant
• Drought tolerant
• Cold hardy
• Heat tolerant
• Wildlife

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Easy

Toughness

Very tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   1.1 ft (0.35 m)

2. After 1 year

   1.7 ft (0.51 m)

3. After 2 years

   2.2 ft (0.67 m)

4. After 3 years

   2.5 ft (0.75 m)

   full size

About 3 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Safe

Native to

the US and Canada

Growth rate

Moderate

• Water new plants deeply when the root zone dries; reduce watering once established.
• Do not routinely fertilise; rich feeding encourages floppy growth.
• Keep mulch away from the crown, especially in damp climates.
• Avoid staking by providing full sun and lean soil.
• Divide in spring if the centre dies out or the clump becomes too large.

Pruning. Leave the dry stems standing through winter, then cut the clump to 3-6 in (8-15 cm) above ground in late winter or early spring, before new shoots lengthen. Take care not to cut emerging green growth.

Late winter

Enjoy the standing seed heads, then cut back before spring growth begins.

Spring

Plant or divide once the soil is workable and beginning to warm.

Late spring

Check for new growth; this warm-season grass emerges later than many border perennials.

Summer

Water young plants during dry weather; avoid feeding established clumps.

Late summer

Leave flowers to develop into silvery seed heads.

Autumn

Leave coloured foliage and stems standing for winter structure and wildlife.

• Repeat small groups through sunny borders with coneflowers and asters for blue summer foliage and warm autumn colour.
• Plant in prairie-style drifts with other clumping grasses and drought-tolerant perennials.
• Use in gravel gardens where lean soil helps keep the stems upright.
• Place where low autumn or winter sunlight can shine through the fluffy seed heads.
• Use as a low, informal edging along broad sunny paths, allowing room for the mature clumps.

Garden styles it suits: Native meadow, New perennial (prairie), Midwest prairie, Dry gravel garden, Low-maintenance and Winter interest.

Plant it with: Purple coneflower, Butterfly milkweed, Prairie dropseed, Rattlesnake master, Black-eyed Susan and Aromatic aster.

Wildlife: In its native North American range, little bluestem supports several grass-feeding skipper butterfly caterpillars. Seeds feed small birds, and standing clumps provide winter cover for insects and other small wildlife. Flowers are wind-pollinated rather than a nectar source.

• Flopping stems: usually caused by shade, rich soil or excessive watering; move to full sun, stop feeding and reduce irrigation.
• Crown rot in wet soil: improve drainage or move the plant to a raised, freely draining position; replace badly rotted clumps.
• Unwanted seedlings: remove seedlings while small, or cut off seed heads before they shed if self-seeding becomes troublesome.

Not known to be toxic to cats, dogs, horses or people. No part is recognised as poisonous; eating coarse leaves may still cause minor digestive irritation in pets.

• Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)

  Usually much taller, with broader leaves and distinctive seed heads divided into several finger-like branches.

• Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum)

  Has broader leaves and open, airy, branching flower panicles rather than narrow flowering stems with fluffy seed clusters.

• Broomsedge (Andropogon virginicus)

  Often has straw-orange winter stems and fluffy seeds, but its leaves are usually green rather than strongly blue, and its flowering stems have conspicuous enclosing leaf sheaths.

Little bluestem refers to the bluish lower stems and its smaller size compared with big bluestem; 'The Blues' refers to this cultivar's blue foliage.

Propagation. Divide established clumps in spring as growth begins, keeping roots and live shoots on each division. Division preserves 'The Blues'; seedlings may differ in colour and habit and should not be labelled as this cultivar.

Accepted botanical name

Schizachyrium scoparium

In the US and Canada

Native in Canada and the lower 48 states. Introduced in Hawaii.

Native range

Alabama, Alberta, Arkansas, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia and Idaho.

Measured

Soil pH 5.5 to 8.4. Average height 41 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.