Little Bluestem Grass Facts: Growth, Pruning Tips For Perennial Grass

A little bluestem is a perineal grass of the prairie habitat.

Its name, ‘Bluestem’ is driven by the blue-green color that appears at the base of its leaves. However, its scientific name is Schizachyrium scoparium.

Commonly known as bread grass, it is the most common ornamental plant found throughout the wild. Unlike other grasses, little bluestem attracts birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects that love feeding on its seed heads.

It is a drought-tolerant plant and grows well in any soil that does not retain water. However, it cannot thrive in the shade and needs good sunlight and drainage.

Little bluestem is a prominent species of grass found mostly in the United States, north of the Canada-US border, and northern Mexico. It is the official state grass of Kansas and Nebraska.

Little bluestem is typically a long-rooted plant that enriches the deep soil, and people often confuse it with Big Bluestem. The little bluestem is very different from the big bluestem, although they belong to the same plant family.

This plant has an impeccable force that holds the earth in its place as the roots extend down more than 5 ft. (1.5 m) and firmly anchor the soil. Thus, it is a perfect choice of plant for erosion control in meadows, slopes, gardens, and micro prairies.

This bunchgrass grows upright to about 3 ft. (0.91 m) high. It has bluish-green or grayish-green blades in May and June. The fall color is typically bronze, orange, or burgundy with a tint of red or purple to a height of 4-5 ft. (1.2-1.5 m).

Grass is an excellent choice to attract wildlife. However, it can grow invasively, and you must remove the seed heads to control its growth. Some people also burn it in late winter and early spring as it burns cleanly and quickly.

It is also called the ‘warm-season plant’ because it is grown best in full sun at 80 °F (26.6 °C) in the summer. It is recommended in USDA zones 3-10. This species grows on well-drained soil and has high drought tolerance as it needs very little water to survive.

After you've finished reading this article on little bluestem grass facts, you might be interested in learning more about the bamboo plant and begonias facts here at Kidadl.

Little Bluestem Grass Classification

Little bluestems are erect native grasses that display both a caespitose and a sod-forming habit. They grow erect in distinct clumps in dry conditions. These flower stalks are generally 4-10 in (10.2-25.4 cm) in diameter and 5-10 in (12.7-25.4 cm) apart.

These flowering stalks are of fall color, terete, and hairless. However, the base of each stalk is erect. The lower half of the culms is responsible for the production of leaves. These leaves turn green during summer and spring, purplish at maturity, and burgundy in fall.

The roots of little bluestem are more fascinating than the plant stalks. They are deep, fibrous, and fine, with a diameter of 0.004-0.04 in (0.1-1 mm).

In most cases, they grow vertically downwards, up to 5.5 ft. (1.7 m) or more. The fact that these species do not need much water is because they host arbuscular mycorrhizae that increase when the water level decreases.

Little bluestem has a wide range of ecotypes in terms of bunch size, height, leaf length, spikelet size, and phenology. The plant grows from seeds into a long, upright perennial bunchgrass. Each fertile spikelet is about 1.5–3 in (3.8-7.6 cm) long. Each pair of spikelets is covered with long white hairs that tend to zigzag between the spikelets.

These spikelets are 0.2–0.3 in (0.5-0.8 cm) long, but all of them are not fertile. The fertile spikelet has a perfect floret, which is the head of a cultivating flower. They bloom in late summer and last for up to one to two weeks in autumn.

The plant's foliage turns beige in winter and spreads into clusters of fluffy white seed heads that shine in the sun. To some extent, these spikelets are blown by the wind, but they are great food for birds and butterflies in winter as they shred. Nevertheless, the forage grass is appetizing to cattle, bison, and other herbivorous wildlife.

Moreover, there are various variations and cultivars of the prairie grasses such as Itasca, Blaze, the Blues, Camper, Cimarron, and many more.

Taking Care Of Little Bluestem Grass

The little bluestem, or Schizachyrium scoparium, is an outstanding choice for your garden that has extreme durability. It is very easy to plant and only requires full sun and a little water.

It needs no nitrogen but will benefit from fertilizers in spring. The native species can be grown in any place in the United States. The grass can be planted in any disturbed area for erosion control, such as slopes, urban trail landscapes, coastal beaches, and river banks.

However, with time, the native plants start to age and start to curl. These curls need to be cut down when they get too long for your garden. Every few years, the grass must be divided from the center of the grass clump, failing which the plant may die and not produce any foliage.

Also, with scheduled pruning, the native plants do not lose their beauty, and the landscape will not get rid of the local birds’ food and shelter. However, you should keep an eye out for seed pods that may spread throughout your yard and take root in inconvenient places.

It is also advised to cut off the rouge shoots from growing areas during the springtime itself. While plucking off seed heads, one should be careful not to decrease the beauty of the plants.

Pruning Tips For Little Bluestem Grass

The little bluestem is one of the most remarkably adaptive and attractive plants. It belongs to the Poaceae grass family and is an ornamental bunchgrass with fine-textured foliage. It can be planted for its visual dynamics in a garden or micro prairie, and to maintain it, one should keep trimming it.

These wildflower plants take time to grow and need to spread their roots before winter. It is advised to prune the foliage to about 8 in (20.3 cm) tall in winter or early spring. Also, cut the leaves back to 2-4 in (5.1-10.2 cm) in the fall.

To intensify its beauty, the plants should be used as an accent with a dark-leaved Heuchera or other flowering natives like Mohr’s rosinweed, orange coneflower, or Michaelmas daisies.

Germination Time For Little Bluestem Grass

Schizachyrium scoparium grows primarily during warm weather under the sun. The plant grows from a seed into tall wild grass. The seed does not need any stratification. People plant it in pots as well as in landscapes.

For growing in pots, seeds need to be sown in moist potting soil and put in a location that receives good sunlight. In late summer, the sown seeds elongate into flowering plants up to 5 ft. (1.5 m) tall.

However, the germination of the seed happens in two to three weeks, and at the end of the winter, it should be transplanted into other pots.

But if you have a garden or want to plant it in disturbed areas, the germination process is the same. The only thing you should check is that the soil is moist, but if not, then you can water the home landscape for about 20-30 minutes on frost nights. Germination improves when the seed receives the cold treatment.

As a result, the little bluestem will grow in one to three weeks at a daytime temperature of 70–85 °F (21.1–29.4 °C). The warm temperature will result in faster germination of the seeds. Little bluestem is the best choice for meadows and rain gardens and is highly preferred for smaller gardens.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for little bluestem grass facts: growth, pruning tips for perennial grass then why not take a look at a Looney Tunes favorite bird: how fast can a roadrunner run?

Or can you really outrun a mouse? How fast can a moose run?