Little Bluestem
(Schizachyrium scoparium)
Height:
Bloom:
Classification:
Sun:
- Full sun (best) to part shade
Soil moisture:
Provides food for:
- Caterpillars (foliage)
- Songbirds (seeds, caterpillars and other insects)
Notes:
- Little bluestem is what’s called a bunch grass which means it forms clumps instead of a solid mat like the turf grass in your yard.
- The foliage is blue-green in spring and reddish-brown in fall and winter.
- Little bluestem is a warm season grass which means that most of its growth occurs during summer and early fall.
- The vegetation remains standing throughout the winter which provides shelter to songbirds and other small wildlife.
- Bumble bee queens will sometimes crawl into the vegetation at the base of the clump to overwinter.
- Deer resistant
Native Range:
Map credit: USDA Plants Database
Relevant Backyard Ecology Resources:
