Little bluestem is a perennial, ornamental, warm season grass in the Poaceae (grass) family with attractive foliage. It is native to eastern North America and is found naturally in a wide range of moist to dry habitats. The narrow erect clumps may grow to 2 to 4 feet tall with an equal spread. It performs best in average, dry to medium-moist, well-drained soil in full sun. It tolerates a wide range of soil conditions including infertility and clay. Once established, it has excellent drought resistance. It is well-adapted to southern climates as it tolerates high heat, humidity, and salt. Cut it back to the ground in late winter or early spring to promote new, attractive growth, and keep mulch away from the crown. Propagate it by seed. The leaves and stems of this grass frequently have a bluish cast in summer, while the fall color is a very warm copper that does not fade throughout winter. Purplish bronze seed heads and yellow-orange leaves make for great fall interest in the landscape. It is highly resistant to browsing by deer. Little bluestem was selected as the 2022 Perennial Plant of the Year® by the Perennial Plant Association. As well as providing year-round cover for wildlife, little bluestem is a larval host plant to various butterflies and moths, making it a great choice for a pollinator garden. The feathery, fine blue-green leaves are attractive in a mass planting in a rain, cottage, coastal, or low water use garden. They adapt well to container plantings or can be used in borders or meadows. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems. VIDEO: Part of the Native Plant Picks series from the North Carolina Sea Grant-led Coastal Landscapes Initiative .
Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗Reconciled to full toolbox: matched by slug to slug 'schizachyrium-scoparium'. Identity (id/common/scientific name) preserved from the original 87-plant Hunnicutt set; attribute data refreshed from the 54-attribute toolbox scrape.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
Blue false indigo (Baptisia australis) is a legume (Fabaceae) reported to host rhizobia and fix atmospheric N2. In tallgrass-prairie guilds, legume-derived nitrogen is thought to become available to neighboring warm-season grasses over time (community-level legume facilitation).
Kept at 'Traditional knowledge' (not Literature): the nodulation source is a blog and the pairwise N transfer to THIS grass at THIS site is inferred from guild…
Traditional knowledgeBaptisia nodulation claim comes from a Master Gardener blog…
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Dry
Available space
12 inches-3 feet; 3 feet-6 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 2 ft. 0 in. - 4 ft. 0 in. | Width: 1 ft. 6 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Clumping; Erect
Texture
Fine
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Blue; Green; Orange
Leaf type
Sheath
Leaf arrangement
Other/more complex
Leaf shape
Filiform
Leaf value
Showy
Leaf size
> 6 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Flat linaer leaves 1/4" wide form attractive clumps of light blue at the base turn orange-yellow in fall and persist into winter giving intrest to the landscape.
Fall color
Gold/Yellow; Orange
Flower color
Purple/Lavender
Flower form
Raceme
Flower detail
Purple-bronze racemes form above the clump of leaves and appear in August. Blooms from June-October.
Bloom time
Fall; Summer
Fruit color
Gold/Yellow; Purple/Lavender
Fruit value
Showy
Fruit detail
Purple-bronze seed heads give excellent fall and winter interest. Fruits are available July-November.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Eastern North America
Wildlife value
Provides excellent cover year round. This is a larval host plant that supports various skipper larvae and Common Wood-Nymph (Cercyonis pegala) which have one brood from late May to October. Adult Common Wood-Nymph butterflies feed on rotting fruit and flower nectar. Seeds are eaten by songbirds and small mammals.
Attracts
Butterflies; Pollinators; Small Mammals; Songbirds