

Genus name comes from the Latin schizein meaning to split and achyron meaning chaff. Many consider the most outstanding ornamental feature of this grass to be its bronze-orange fall foliage color. Flowers are followed by clusters of fluffy, silvery-white seed heads which are attractive and often persist into winter. 20 minutes ago &0183 &32 Where sight lines are not an issue, little bluestem, shrubby Saint John’s wort (Hypericum prolificum), beach plum (Prunus maritima), and bush honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera) are workhorses. Purplish-bronze flowers appear in 3” long racemes on branched stems rising above the foliage in August. Big bluestem ( Andropogon gerardi) is a warm-season, perennial bunchgrass that is native to 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. Wind-based seeding is typically no more than five or six feet from the plant animals. Big Four Native Grass Mix is a blend of Little Bluestem, Big Bluestem, Indiangrass, and Switchgrass are the legendary Four Horsemen of the Tallgrass Prairie. Cut back old stems to 2-3 above ground-level in mid-spring. These extensive roots help native grasses withstand periods of drought.


In the summer, the foliage color is a brighter. BLUE HEAVEN® has a taller, more upright habit that does not tend to flop like the species. An improvement over the species, this cultivar was discovered and selected in a field of Schizachyrium seedlings by Mary Meyer at the University of Minnesota. This native prairie grass is essential for the habitat garden providing seeds for birds and the leaves are food plants for various butterfly species. Common Name: Little Bluestem, Ornamental Grass. 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. Schizachyrium scoparium 'Prairie Blues' is a seed grown selection of Little Bluestem that has very attractive blue foliage. 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.
