Little Bluestem

The 2022 Perennial Plant of the Year®, Schizachyrium scoparium (Zones 3-9), is one of our favorite grasses for the home landscape due to its year-round interest. While it starts the spring as a tidy clump of blue-green blades, it truly comes alive in late summer and fall. As the weather cools, the entire plant shifts into a striking palette of bronze, orange, and deep wine-red.

A Foundation for Songbirds

This grass is a powerhouse for local wildlife. It serves as a Lepidopteran Host for several species of Skipper Butterflies, including the Crossline Skipper. For homeowners, the real draw is the winter interest; the sturdy stems stay upright through the weather, providing critical cover and nesting material for ground-nesting bees and overwintering songbirds. American Goldfinches and Juncos are frequent visitors, clinging to the stems to feast on the high-protein seeds throughout the colder months.

Performance & Site Care

This is a high-performance, low-input plant. Little Bluestem is an exceedingly Drought Resistant plant that thrives in the hottest, driest spots of your yard. It is also a Clay Specialist that handles our heavy Piedmont soils with ease, provided it is planted in Full Sun. Avoid heavy fertilizers or rich compost, which can cause the stems to get too "lush" and flop over (a condition known as Lodging). It is an ideal solution for Erosion Control on sunny slopes because of its deep, fibrous root system. Once established, it is a plant that only requires a quick cut-back to about 4 inches in late winter to make room for new spring growth.