The king of native grasses, big bluestem has handsome gray to blue-green stems in spring, turning to green alternating with deep red in summer, then to coppery red in fall. Three-fingered seed heads top tall stems in August. Clump forming with excellent drought tolerance once established. Found naturally in moist meadows and along side roads and rivers from Canada to Mexico.
Big bluestem is an iconic grass of American prairies and provides striking architecture in the meadow landscape. This robust, warm-season bunchgrass requires full sun but is quite pH adaptable. Flat, blue-green leaves create striking contrast in the landscape. Purplish, 3-part seed heads develop in the summer and early fall atop big bluestem, eventually reaching 4-8’ tall. The leaves remain of interest through the fall with a change to tawny and russet colors. Once established, an expansive fibrous root system makes this grass very drought tolerant. The rich colors of big bluestem are complemented by Schizachyrium scoparium, Rudbeckia hirta, Solidago species, Asclepias tuberosa, Symphyotrichum (aster) species, and Vernonia noveboracensis.
Very tolerant of diverse conditions, but is most often found in full sun, dry and sandy to clay soils. It grows quickly in moist, fertile soils, but is more likely to bend and fall over.