Ornamental · Poaceae
Little Bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium
Give it full sun and lean, dry soil, and this native grass stands tall from summer through the depths of winter.
Full sun
Every 10–21 days
USDA 3–9
2–4 ft · 0.6–1.2 m
Overview
Little bluestem is one of the backbone grasses of the North American prairie, a clump-forming warm-season native that runs from Canada deep into the South. It grows in a tidy upright tuft, usually 2 to 4 feet (60 to 120 cm) tall, with fine blades that read blue-gray through summer. Where many ornamental grasses sulk in poor ground, this one thrives on it.
The real show comes late. As nights cool, the foliage turns warm shades of copper, mahogany, and burgundy, and fluffy silvery seed heads catch the low autumn light. Those seed heads and standing stems hold their shape right through winter, feeding birds and giving a dormant garden some structure when little else does.
It's about as low-maintenance as a plant gets, but it has one firm rule: keep it lean and sunny. Rich soil, shade, or too much water make it grow soft and flop open at the center. Treat it mean and it stands tall.
Care
The short version: full sun, lean and well-drained soil, and almost no water once it's established. Skip the fertilizer entirely, and cut the old growth back to the ground in late winter before the new shoots appear.
Light
Give little bluestem full sun, the more the better. It tolerates a little light shade, but anything more and the stems grow weak and lean over, taking the fall color down with them.
Water
Once it's settled in, this is a drought-tough grass that lives on rainfall alone. Water only to get it established, then back off. Plants in dry, lean ground stand far straighter, and roughly every 10 to 21 days is plenty even in a spell of heat.
Soil
Lean is the watchword. Average, dry to medium, well-drained soil suits it, and it's just as happy in sandy, rocky, or clay ground. Keep it out of wet or overly rich spots, which is where it goes soft and flops. A pH anywhere from 5.5 to 7.5 works fine.
Temperature
Few grasses are this hardy. It shrugs off winter lows down to -40°F (-40°C) and summer heat past 109°F (43°C), which is why it grows across most of the continent.
Humidity
Open-air humidity is no concern for a prairie grass. What it really wants is good air movement around the clump, which keeps the occasional bout of rust from taking hold.
Feeding
Don't feed it. Fertilizer is the fastest way to ruin this plant, pushing soft, lush growth that flops and loses its color. Lean soil is exactly what it wants.
Pruning
There's only one cut to make. Shear the old growth right to the ground in late winter or early spring, before the new shoots break, and the fresh clump fills back in on its own.
Repotting
Established clumps rarely need dividing. The sign it's time is when the center dies out or the clump opens up and loses vigor, at which point you lift and split it in spring.
Size & spacing
Expect a clump 2 to 4 feet (60 to 120 cm) tall with a spread of about 18 to 24 inches (46 to 61 cm). Set plants on those spacings so each one keeps its tidy upright shape with air moving between them.
When to plant
Little bluestem is a warm-season grass, so it waits for real heat before it gets going. Start seed in early spring, set young plants out after the last frost, and the grass colors up and throws its seed heads from late summer into winter.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: Late winter to early spring, about 8-10 weeks before last frost
- Plant: Spring after last frost into early summer
- Harvest: August to February; reddish-brown flowers followed by fluffy silvery-white seed heads persisting through winter
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 3–9
Temperature: down to -40°C
Troubleshooting
This grass has few real problems, and most of the ones it does have trace back to a site that's too kind. Read the early signs below and the fix is usually a matter of sun, soil, and restraint rather than sprays.
Stems flop open and lodge by late season
This is lodging, and it almost always comes down to too much comfort. Shade, rich soil, and extra water push soft, weak growth that can't hold itself up. Move the clump into full sun, skip the fertilizer, and pick a sturdy upright cultivar like Standing Ovation or Blue Heaven if your site stays lush.
Fix:
- Site in full sun
- Grow in lean, dry, well-drained soil with no added fertilizer
- Reduce supplemental watering once established
- Choose sturdy upright cultivars such as Standing Ovation or Blue Heaven
Volunteer seedlings popping up around the clump
Little bluestem is a vigorous native that sets plenty of viable seed, so self-seeding is normal in a spot it likes. If you want it to stay put, pull the volunteers by hand while they're small. Cutting the seed heads off before they ripen stops the spread at the source.
Fix:
- Remove unwanted seedlings by hand
- Cut back seed heads before they mature if spread is unwanted
Orange powdery spots on the leaf blades
Those powdery orange spots that rub off on your fingers are rust, a fungus that shows up now and then on the foliage. It's almost always cosmetic and clears on its own. Give the plant full sun and room for air to move, water at the base, and trim out any badly marked blades.
Fix:
- Improve air circulation
- Avoid overhead watering
- Remove severely affected foliage
Toxicity
Good news for pet owners: little bluestem is non-toxic to cats, dogs, horses, and the rest of the household. It's a native forage grass grazed by livestock and a favorite of seed-eating birds, so there's nothing here to worry about. The only minor catch is that grass pollen can bother people with hay fever.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats Safe
Safe to be around. A cat that chews a lot of the blades might cough one up, the same harmless reaction any grass can bring on.
Dogs Safe
No toxic compounds here, so a curious dog can nose through it freely. Eating a big mouthful of blades may bring on a little vomiting, nothing worse.
Horses Safe
Horses graze little bluestem with no trouble. It's a valued prairie forage grass, not a hazard.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits can nibble the foliage without any risk.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep eat this grass on the range. It has long served as native pasture and hay.
Birds Safe
Songbirds feast on the seed heads through winter and shelter in the standing clumps, all of it perfectly safe.
People Safe
Handling and growing it poses no danger. The one thing to note is that grass pollen can bother anyone with hay fever.
Pets that nibble grass blades may occasionally vomit or have mild stomach upset, as with any grass; grass pollen can affect allergy-sensitive people.
Varieties
Plant breeders have picked out forms of little bluestem for sturdier posture and stronger color. These are the named cultivars you're most likely to find.
Standing Ovation
Stays bolt upright and refuses to flop even in richer soil, carrying blue blades tipped in red that turn a clean red-maroon in fall without browning out.
Blue Heaven (MinnBlueA)
Bred at the University of Minnesota as a tall, narrow upright clump, its blue-gray summer foliage shifts to burgundy-red with pink and purple tones once the weather cools.
The Blues
Grown for its standout blue-tinted foliage and burgundy-red fall color, though it can splay open late in the season.
Twilight Zone
A patented selection prized for its unusual silvery-mauve foliage washed with purple.
Carousel
A compact, smaller cultivar that packs the same multicolor foliage into a tidier clump.
Companions
Little bluestem looks most at home with other sun-loving prairie plants that share its taste for lean, dry, well-drained ground.
Plant near
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum): Native warm-season prairie grass with the same lean, dry, full-sun requirements for naturalistic plantings
Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea): Drought-tolerant prairie perennial that pairs in full sun and well-drained soil
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia): Sun-loving prairie companion thriving in the same dry, lean conditions
How to propagate
You can raise little bluestem from seed for a cheap mass planting, or split existing clumps when you want to keep a particular cultivar's color.
SeedEasy
Sow into a firm seedbed in early spring; can also start indoors 8-10 weeks before last frost · One to two growing seasons
Seed is the cheapest way to cover ground. Sow it into a firm seedbed in early spring, or start it indoors 8 to 10 weeks before your last frost, and let the warm spring soil trigger germination. Give it one to two growing seasons to settle in, and expect it to seed itself around once it's happy.
DivisionEasy
Spring as new growth begins · One growing season
Division is the way to keep a named cultivar true, since those colors won't come back reliably from seed. Lift and split an established clump in spring as the new growth pushes up, and the divisions take hold within a single growing season. It's also the fix for an old clump that's started to die out in the middle.
Myths
Little bluestem needs rich, watered, and fertilized soil to grow well.
The opposite holds true. This is a prairie grass that wants lean, dry ground and full sun, and that's exactly where it stands tallest and colors best. Pamper it with rich soil, extra water, or fertilizer and it goes soft, weakens, and flops open at the center.