Schizachyrium scoparium

Sizes available: Landscape plug

Basics: zones 3-9, 18-30" x 18-24", full sun, the slender flower spikes emerges with a slight purple tinge that matures to tan in late fall and look beautiful en masse, the foliage is blue-green into fall and shifts from warm orange-bronze to tan as the plant senesces. Likes lean soil and is drought tolerant once established

Common names: Little Blue Stem

Family: Poaceae

Origin/Distribution: almost every contiguous state in the U.S. plus northern Mexico, native to Maine

Habitat: sunny areas with dry, well-drained, lean soil: woodland edge, hillside, slope, prairie, plain, meadow, pasture, savanna, upland. In its natural habitats, it is often found growing with Andropogon gerardii, Sorghastrum nutans and Panicum virgatum as part of the tall grass prairie ecology. All of these grasses are also native to Maine.

More: Small birds and mammals will eat the seeds. The plant offers nesting material as well as over-wintering habitat. For example, female bumblebees nest at the base of bunch grasses. It is the larval host for numerous Skipper species including the Indian Skipper (Hesperia sassacus) and the Crossline Skipper (Polites origenes) which are both native to Maine. Numerous other insects feed on S. scoparium. The Perennial Plant Association chose S. scoparium its perennial plant of the year in 2022. This is an excellent grass for a container.

Image credits: Wikimedia Commons; Frank Meuschke of Shelterwood Gardens