Bluestem grasses are our 2024 October plant of the month. What do I mean by bluestem grasses? Well, there are 2 species that are generally considered when talking about bluestem grasses. These are Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) and Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii). This can get confusing when someone asks for bluestem grasses. You have to know which kind and what the differences are. I also have Broomsedge bluestem (Andropogon virginicus) in my pasture, which looks a lot like little bluestem. But big and little bluestems are commonly selected for traits and used in the landscape.
Bluestem grasses are native throughout the United States, except for Oregon, and parts of California, Washington, and Nevada. So they grow well in all areas east of the Continental Divide. And both, if planted in the right place and chosen for the right feature, make great landscape grasses. Native grasses in general are better to use than Asian and European introductions. And some formerly popular nonnatives, such as pampas grass and miscanthus, are becoming more and more invasive in the American landscape.
Big Bluestem Grasses – Andropogon gerardii
I remember once when I was a kid at my grandparent’s house in North Central Kansas, back on a Thanksgiving Day. A lot of the family had already left, but my uncle had gone for a walk through the pasture. Strangely enough, he found a WWI soldiers helmet, and some native grasses. He brought in a flowered stem of big bluestem that measure 9 feet tall! Big bluestems were part of the original tall grass prairies, along with switchgrass, Indiangrass, and prairie cordgrass. Big bluestem is found all over the place, from wet to dry.
In the past few years, selections have been made and trialed for fall color and tidiness of big bluestems in the landscape. The problem is that landscapers expect grasses to behave in the landscape, not falling over or breaking because they are not planted along with other grasses and forbs, like what is found in a natural prairie system. So selections have been made for upright habits, and summer and fall colors.
Growing Big Bluestem
It is not hard. I like to have them mixed in with the other native grasses in my Meadow Garden and Monarch Waystation. However, they are more commonly used in groupings of 3, 5, or 7 in landscapes, to hide views of generators, electrical boxes or poles, or ac units. They do their job, but to me, it just does not look natural enough. We mix a lot of species together in a landscape which would never be found growing together in nature. But that is what most do.
Big bluestem is very drought and heat tolerant, but will also grow in mildly wet areas like the slough, as well. I would not recommend planting them in areas of standing water though, such as along ponds, rivers, or swamps. Plant prairie cordgrass in those spots.
One of the nice things about grasses in general, is that a lot of the pests that plague other garden plants do not touch them. Grasshoppers, katydids, and some leaf beetles are the main pest problems of grasses, but even these do not cause serious damage. Many grass skippers will also utilize bluestem grasses as a host plant, but you probably will not see the caterpillars, which are often rolled into a leaf to feed.
For general maintenance, shear back the foliage down to about 8 – 10 inches above the soil each spring. Or, if you are like me and have your bluestems in a meadow, burn off the foliage in February or March.
Cultivars of Big Bluestem Grasses
There are number of cultivars selected for summer and fall color, and size or tidiness in the garden.
- Blackhawks – has a purplish tint to the leaves and stems all summer long and turns purple-black in autumn. It grows only 4 to 5 feet tall by 2 to 3 feet wide.
- Red October – grows 5 to 6 feet tall by 3 feet wide. It emerges green and gets some reddish striping along the margins of the leaves. In fall, it turns bright red after frost.
- Indian Warrior – has reddish leaf tips and the whole plant turns red in autumn. It grows 4 to 6 feet tall by 2 feet wide.
- Lord Snowden – is one of the largest cultivars, growing 5 to 8 feet tall by 6 to 8 feet wide. It turns reddish tan in the fall.
- Rain Dance – has red tipped leaves and turns bright red in the fall. It grows 3 to 5 feet tall by 2 feet wide.
Little Bluestem Grasses – Schizachyrium scoparium
The little bluestem grasses have become one of the most commonly used landscape grasses in the last 2 decades. And why not? Besides the excellent summer and fall colors, little bluestems are drought and heat tolerant, small in stature, work well singly or in masses, and are easy to maintain. One of the only problems has been a tendency to flop after flowering in summer. But recent cultivars have overcome this with selections for sturdier flowering stems. The first cultivar to provide this was ‘Standing Ovation’, one of my favorites. But there are other now. Blue color has been the most consistently sought for characteristic.
Little bluestem grasses typically come our green in mid-spring, and age either to bluish or reddish-tan. And the fall color is usually varying shades of purple, red, or maroon. Skipper butterflies also use these grasses as a host plant for rearing their caterpillars. Little bluestem grasses can be sheared off in early spring at 6 to 8 inches tall or burned off in a prairie system.
Cultivars
- Chameleon grows 1 to 2 feet tall and wide with green and white variegated foliage, tipped in red.
- Jazz grows 1 to 3 feet tall by 1 foot wide. The leaves are steel-blue green, turning red in the fall.
- Smoke Signal has dark, almost purple-blue leaves during the growing season, turning darker as fall arrives. It grows 3 to 4 feet tall by 2 feet wide.
- Brush Strokes has dark greenish-purple leaves which turn mahogany in the fall. It grows 2 1/2 feet tall by 2 feet wide.
- Standing Ovation has blue-green leaves and very upright, narrow form, growing 2 to 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide.
- Prairie Blues grows 3 to 4 feet tall by 2 feet wide. The leaves are blue-green and turn red in the fall.
- Blue Paradise has purplish-green leaves which turn red in the fall. It grows 2 to 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide.
- Shining Star has variegated green and white foliage that turns reddish purple in fall. It grows 1 to 3 feet tall by 2 feet wide.
Companion Plants for Bluestem Grasses
Bluestem grasses can fit into a wide array of landscape styles, especially those which focus on prairie or natural meadow style arrangements. Therefore, there are a lot of companion plants for them. But it may be best to use natives or nativars when building relationships with bluestems.
Companions for Natural Landscapes
- Switchgrass
- Indiangrass
- Muhly Grass
- Lovegrass
- Wild Quinine
- Butterfly Milkweed
- Echinacea Cultivars
- Purple Prairie Clover
- Aromatic Aster
- Leadplant
- Rudbeckia ‘American Gold Rush’
- Willowleaf Bluestar
- Sneezeweed
- Penstemon Cultivars
- Baptisia Cultivars
- Yucca
Companions for Formal Landscape Styles
- Perennial Salvia
- Lavender
- Rudbeckia ‘American Gold Rush’
- Drift Roses
- Echinacea Cultivars
- Coreopsis Cultivars
- Ornamental Onion
- Catmint Cultivars
- Sedums
Conclusion
Bluestem grasses are not only versatile in many landscapes, they are hardy and resilient too. And they can be long-lived, if care for properly. If you are planning to expand your landscape or create a new bed, plan to use some of the many cultivars of bluestem grasses. They can be great for massing or screenings. And they are pest and disease resistant, like many of our other native grasses and forbs.
Happy planting!
