Little Bluestem is a highly ornamental native grass prized for its blue-green leaf color and upright form. The foliage provides excellent color all season-long and creates the perfect backgrop for prairie flowers. Densely mounded, Little Bluestem reaches …
Little Bluestem is a highly ornamental native grass prized for its blue-green leaf color and upright form. The foliage provides excellent color all season-long and creates the perfect backgrop for prairie flowers. Densely mounded, Little Bluestem reaches a height of 3 feet by autumn, when it turn a striking reddish-bronze, bearing illuminated tufted seeds. The rigid clumps can withstand snow and rain, allowing the reddish grass stems to remain upright for most of the winter.
This prairie grass excels in dry sandy soils and combines well with all prairie flowers. It is fairly adaptable, but not recommended for damp sites or heavy clay soils. Little Bluestem is a host plant for numerous skipper butterflies including the Cobweb Skipper, Dusted Skipper, Ottoe Skipper, Delaware Skipper, Crossline Skipper and Swarthy Skipper.
Seeding Rates for a Solid Stand of Little Bluestem • 5 Oz. per 1000 square feet • 12 Lb. per acre
Native plants can be grown outside of their native range in the appropriate growing conditions. This map shows the native range, as well as the introduced range, of this species.
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Fall plant-shipping begins on September 9, 2024. The last day to order your plants for fall shipment is September 29.
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Do you have seeding instructions for Little Bluestem? Is it difficult to grow from seed or does it establish easily? Please explain the technique for dry stratification for little Bluestem. Thanks so much.
Little Bluestem is easy to grow and establish from seed. The Little Bluestem seed from Prairie Nursery has been stored in cold dry storage, and is ready to plant. Spread the seed evenly over a prepared, weed-free soil or planting medium, and rake/cover with light top layer of soil. Then firm the seed bed by rolling or tamping the surface. Water on a regular schedule but do not over-water. Little Bluestem seed can be sown outdoors in the fall on a scheduled that is aligned with the grasses natural seeding. Seed will emerge the following spring. If you plan to store seed over the winter it should be kept in a cold dry storage (around 32 degrees) to maintain a decent germination rate.
Will this grow in clay soil if the soil is well-drained?
Little Bluestem can tolerate a wide range of soil conditions, including well-drained (medium clay) soils. It can take longer to mature on medium clays, but once it is established, is fine. We do not recommended planting Little Bluestem on heavy clay, however.
What is the seeding rate for a solid stand of Little Bluestem?
The seeding rate for Little Bluestem for a solid stand (of a single species) is: • 5 oz. per 1000 sq. ft., or • 12 lb. per acre.
When seeding two or more grasses together, divide the seeding rate for each species by the number of species to be planted. When seeding grasses and flowers together, use one-half to two-thirds of the recommended grass seeding rate, depending upon your desired balance of flowers to grasses.
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