Little Bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium
Fine-textured blue-green foliage stems form tight clumps in summer, transforming into a brilliant display of warm copper-orange and mahogany in fall. Fluffy, silvery seedheads catch autumn sunlight and provide winter food for songbirds. A quintessential, drought-proof native bunchgrass for full sun.
- Family
- Poaceae
- Type
- grass
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 2–4 ft
- Spacing
- 1.5–2 ft apart
- Light
- sun, part shade
- Soil moisture
- dry, moist
- Soil pH
- acidic, neutral, alkaline
- Bloom
- June, July, August, September, October, November, December
- Bloom colors
- white, green, brown
- Wildlife value
- songbirds, butterflies, larval host
- Landscape uses
- specimen, border, naturalizing
- Native states
- AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY