CRCCD – Little Bluestem

SKU: CRCCD-LB Category:

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 feet
Pests:  None
Landscape Value: Good for mass planting in borders, rock gardens and meadows.  Great for sun-baked areas.

A clump-forming grass with 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.

1 gallon pot

Photo credits:
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (photo by Norman G. Flaigg)
Missouri Botanical Garden
North Carolina State Extension (photo by Tom Potterfield)