Botanical Name: Schizachyrium scoparium
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Common Name: Little Bluestem  
Plant photo of: Schizachyrium scoparium
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Water Saving Tip:

Replace turf with groundcovers, trees, and shrubs. If you have areas where no one uses the grass, patches that do not grow well, or a turf area too small to water without runoff, consider replacing the turf with water-efficient landscaping.

  • Anatomy

  • Culture

  • Design

Plant Type

Perennial, Grass

 

Height Range

1-3'

 

Flower Color

White

 

Flower Season

Summer, Fall

 

Leaf Color

Green, Blue Green, Red

 

Bark Color

n/a

 

Fruit Color

n/a

 

Fruit Season

n/a

Sun

Full

 

Water

Low

 

Growth Rate

Moderate

 

Soil Type

Sandy, Clay, Rocky, Unparticular

 

Soil Condition

Average, Poor, Well-drained, Dry

 

Soil pH

Neutral, Basic

 

Adverse Factors

n/a

Design Styles

Meadow, Mediterranean, Ranch, Spanish, Native Garden, Woodland

 

Accenting Features

Showy Flowers, Unusual Foliage

 

Seasonal Interest

Summer, Fall

 

Location Uses

Perennial Border, Shrub Border, With Rocks

 

Special Uses

Mass Planting, Lawn Alternative, Naturalizing

 

Attracts Wildlife

n/a

Information by: Stephanie Duer
Photographer:

  • Description

  • Notes

Little bluestem is a charming native to the shortgrass prairie, and quite adaptable to urban settings. It is a warm-season bunchgrass that forms an erect clump growing 1 to 3 feet tall. The foliage is green to purplish, being one of the few purple/red colored grasses that is perennial in our region. Its inflorescence are a sort of zig-zaggy clumps of white fuzziness, flowering in mid-summer. The grass turns a lovely deep reddish bronze in the fall, and holds the color through the winter months. A Utah native.
Grow in full sun in well drained, sandy, gravelly, or course clay soils. Prefers soils of low fertility; is tolerant of high pH but not of salt. Will not tolerate being over-irrigated. Mow in late winter, early spring. It seed matures in Oct and Nov.