Description
Schizachyrium scoparium
CT DR RG
Soil: Sandy, Loam, Well-drained
Moisture: Dry to Average
Light: Full to Part Sun
Plant Height: 1.5 to 3 feet
Plant Width: 1 to 2 foot
Pests: None
Landscape Value: Great for mass planting in borders, rock gardens and meadows. Great for sun-baked areas.
Native grass prized for its blue-green leaf color and upright form, with excellent color through the season. A clump forming grass with mounded form, and fine-textured blue-green leaves that turn a striking reddish-tan to coppery in the autumn and persist through winter snows. Purplish-bronze flower clusters rise above the foliage in August. Flowers are followed by fuzzy, silvery-white seed heads that attract small birds. Provides cover and nesting materials for native bees. Best planted in full sun to avoid flopping late in season. Readily self-seeds so not recommended for small gardens. Tolerates heat, humidity, drought, erosion, black walnut, and a wide range of soils, but not wetland soils. Larval host to Dusted Skipper, Crossline Skipper, Indian Skipper, and Common Wood-nymph butterflies.
Landscape plugs, 2″ wide by 5″ deep, sold in quantities of 5 or 10
Photo credits:
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (photo by Norman G. Flaigg)
Missouri Botanical Garden
North Carolina State Extension (photo by Tom Potterfield)
