Latin for Gardeners
September’s Native Maryland Plant
Schizachyrium scoparium (Michx.) Nash
(skiz-ah-KEER-ee-um sko-PAR-ee-um)
Common Name: Little Bluestem
Get ready for it! The changing of the seasons brings about some of the finest displays of color in nature. As we move from summer to fall, many plants will turn deep red, purple, orange or yellow. Others, like Little Bluestem, will change to a more subtle reddish tan, providing a calming effect when planted in drifts, as in the Delaware Botanic Garden, a fabulous place to observe the changing of the seasons.
However, as watershed stewards, we know it’s not about looks when choosing what to plant. How a plant functions and fits our site conditions is a more important consideration. Is it providing value to our watershed? In the case of Schizachyrium scoparium, the answer is a resounding, yes! In fact, Little Bluestem is used in many stormwater best-management practices (BMPs). It has an extensive and fibrous root system that can reach over 5’, making it drought tolerant and good for erosion control. It’s excellent at stabilizing slopes and at filtering runoff, improving water quality. Its heat tolerance makes it useful along driveways or in parking lot islands where access to water is difficult or non-existent. It’s a low-maintenance grass; unlike a lawn, it requires no fertilizer and only a single pruning in late winter or early spring to look its best in a home or community landscape.
By itself, Schizachyrium scoparium is an attractive grass that can serve many functions. Its ability to grow in poor soil conditions makes it one of the most widely occurring grasses in the U.S. It may come as no surprise that it is native to all but four states (California, Washington, Oregon, and Nevada). The cultivar, ‘Standing Ovation’, is found at most nurseries, and is known for its wider, red tipped blades, and a more upright habit in improved soil conditions.
Planting it alone is common but there are also many native perennials that can serve as excellent companion plants to Little Bluestem. It is often used to provide a soft contrast to the seedheads of coneflower and other native perennials. It’s a common prairie plant so most native plants that can tolerate dry, full sun sites can make a good companion – it does especially well in sandy soil. S. scoparium is a native grass that “is least adapted to growing in close proximity to broad leaved species1”; planting among shrubs would not be the most effective use of this grass.
What about supporting life? There’s a lot to tell there too. Little Bluestem is host to 9 skipper butterflies. And the small tuft at the base of S. scoparium provides cover, nesting material and sometimes a home for ground nesting birds. And to top it off, the fluffy, white seedheads that form on its spikelets provide winter food for overwintering birds like finch, grosbeak, and towhees.
I’ll admit, the fact that it has lovely summer and fall color is, indeed, a great feature of this plant, but there’s a long list of other reasons to use it in your garden too.
Alison Milligan – MG/MN 2013
Watershed Steward Class 7/Anne Arundel Tree Trooper
Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP)
aligmilligan@gmail.com