Little Bluestem
Johnston's Native Grasses | Grasses

ALDOUS LITTLE BLUESTEM

#1100 | SCHIZACHYRIUM SCOPARIUM

Summary

Little Bluestem is a native, warm-season perennial grass with gray-green foliage and unique reddish bronze color in fall. This grass is an excellent choice for erosion control, soil improvement, and wildlife habitat. It also helps reduce water and fertilizer utilization. Little Bluestem is an environmentally responsible choice, preserving soil quality, reducing water usage, and providing a habitat for wildlife. This easy-to-maintain, bright grass will bring long-term benefits to any lawn or garden.

One of the BIG FOUR native grasses, Little Bluestem grows well on a variety of soil types, including deep, shallow, sandy, fine textured, and rocky soils. It is a bunch type, native, warm-season, perennial mid grass, with a dense root system, and may reach heights of from 2 to 4 feet tall. Little Bluestem can be identified by its flat, bluish-colored basal shoots and its leaf blades which tend to fold. Mature plants have a reddish cast after frost. Little Bluestem is more drought resistant than Big Bluestem, and can be found in the lower rainfall areas of the Great Plains. Little Bluestem can be spread by seed, tillers, and underground rootstocks. It produces an abundance of high quality, palatable forage that is used for both hay and pasture. Little Bluestem should not be grazed closer than 4 to 6 inches during the growing season. The seed is mature in late September and October. It can be seeded alone or in mixtures with tall and short grasses.

Plant Characteristics
Taxonomy

Zone

Regional Growing Zone
1 - Northwest Coastal, 2 - California Coastal, 3 - Southern Mountain, 4 - Mountain, 5 - Midwest, 6 - Northeast Lakes, 7 - Great Lakes South, 8 - Appalacia, 9 - Southeast, 10 - South Florida
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Temperature Zone
Warm, Cool, Transitional

Plant Characteristics

Height
24" - 48"
Bloom Period
Late-Summer
Bloom Color
Yellow
Leaf Color
Green-gray
Growing Cycle
Perennial
Sun Requirement
Full Sun

Plant Information

Planting Season
Fall - Spring
Plant Depth
0.25" - 0.5"
Minimum Soil Temp for Germination
50° F
Establishment
Moderate

Seed Information

Seeds Per Pound
255,000
Kingdom
PLANTAE
Subkingdom
TRACHEOBIONTA
Super Division
SPERMATOPHYTA
Division
MAGNOLIOPHYTA
Class
LILIOPSIDA
Subclass
COMMELINIDAE
Order
CYPERALES
Family
POACEAE
Genus
SCHIZACHYRIUM
Species
SCHIZACHYRIUM SCOPARIUM

Coverage Area & Available Sizes

COVERAGE: 2 lb PLS/3000 sq ft or 7 to 9 lbs PLS/ acre

AVAILABLE SIZES:

Applications

Conservation, Reclamation & Restoration

The persistence of Little Bluestem in a wide range of geographical regions, soils, and climates makes it very useful in for conservation applications. It is commonly used on revegatation areas, buffer strips, and very marginal soils for soil stabilization.

Pasture & Range

Little bluestem when grazed or hayed prior to seed stem elongation makes good quality forage. When heavily grazed with more palatable species such as Big Bluestem, Little Bluestem will increase in the population over time.

Landscaping

Little Bluestem makes an attractive landscape species whether it is in small groups or large mass plantings. The unique reddish-orange color of the foliage after frost makes it one of the most popular of the native grasses.

Growth Guide & Gallery

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