Grass, Little Bluestem

Schizachyrium scoparium 'Blaze'

Height: 2-4ft
Spread: 1.5-2ft
Zone: 3-9
Exposure: Full sun
Bloom Time/Color: August-February, purplish bronze
Uses: Naturalizing, massing, prairies, rock garden, borders, specimen, rain gardens
Maintenance: Low
Other: Fall color, deer resistance, erosion tolerant, black walnut

Schizachyrium scoparium, commonly called little bluestem, is native to prairies, fields, clearings, hills, limestone glades, roadsides, waste areas and open woods from Alberta to Quebec south to Arizona and Florida. It was one of the dominant grasses of the vast tallgrass prairie region which once covered rich and fertile soils in many parts of central North America. It typically matures to 2-4’ (less frequently to 5’) tall, and features upright clumps of slender, flat, linear green leaves (to 1/4“ wide), with each leaf having a tinge of blue at the base. The foliage turns shades of bronze-orange in the fall. Purplish-bronze flowers appear in 3” long racemes on branched stems rising above the foliage in August. Flowers are followed by clusters of fluffy, silvery-white seed heads which are attractive and often persist into winter. The seeds are eaten by many species of birds.

Genus name comes from the Latin schizein meaning to split and achyron meaning chaff.

Specific epithet means broomlike.

Common name is in reference to the lavender-blue color on the stem bases.

Schizachyrium scoparium is an Iowa native.

***Photo courtesy of the Missouri Botanical Garden***