Schizachyrium scoparium
Little Bluestem
- Average to Very Dry Soils
- Full Sun to Very Light Shade
- 36” tall, 12” to 24” spacing
- Summer Blooms, Fall Seed Heads
- Ontario Native, Thrives in Meadow and Dry Meadow Ecosystems
While I've seen these in many gardens and landscapes, they are new to my garden this season and are growing from seeds sourced from Prairie Moon Nursery.
https://www.prairiemoon.com/schizachyrium-scoparium-little-bluestem-prairie-moon-nursery.html
Clump forming and growing to 2' to 3' in height, this dryland grass is one of only a few native grass species that is already widely adopted by the landscaping and horticultural industry.
While quite upright in dryland settings, they can become floppy if grown in too-rich soil, without enough neighbours.
They emerge with green foliage in the spring, develop a bluer tone as they mature in the summer, followed by flowering and seed stems that can develop a distinct red to purple tone, before drying to a wheat yellow.
Please check out the Prairie Moon listing at the link above for more details.
Photos by USFWS Mountain-Prairie, Chhe, Matt Lavin and Krzysztof Ziarnek via Wikimedia Commons