Little bluestem 'The Blues'
Schizachyrium scoparium 'The Blues' · Poaceae
Stems and leaves of strong powder blue through summer, turning burgundy, orange and pink in autumn, with fluffy silver seed heads.
- Size
- 3 ft tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Early August to early October
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around little bluestem 'The Blues'
The planner designed this bed around little bluestem 'The Blues' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) contemporary bed in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why little bluestem 'The Blues' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Little bluestem 'The Blues' × 3, tan
- 2 Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch' × 5, pink
- 3 Russian stonecrop × 8, yellow
- 4 Brown-eyed Susan × 8, yellow
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Wild lupine × 8, blue
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 3, purple
Why this plant
- The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.
- The only tan. Tan sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3 ft it is one of the taller plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to brown-eyed Susan (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for 9 weeks. From early August to early October.
- In company. With brown-eyed Susan in early August: 2 kinds at once.
- Stands through winter. Left uncut, it holds its shape until March, when the perennials have gone.
Planned as a contemporary bed: 31 of the 32 plants that stand in groups (97%) are set out in a pattern with their neighbours: a straight row, a triangle, or five like the five on a dice. The most in flower at one time is 4 kinds, in early June. In winter there are still little bluestem 'The Blues' and Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch' to look at.
The planner's own design check: 14 Excellent, 3 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where little bluestem 'The Blues' goes in a border
At 3 ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium tall (2½ to 3 ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
The bluest of the older little bluestems. It must be grown lean and dry: in good soil it flops open. Its winter colour, a warm rust, lasts until spring.
- Blue foliage in summer
- Autumn and winter colour
- Dry prairie planting
What to plant with little bluestem 'The Blues'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Purple coneflower: in flower together for five weeks, from early August.
- Butterfly weed: happy in the same dry soil.
- Aromatic aster 'October Skies': in flower together for three weeks, from mid September; a low mound at the foot of its spires; low enough (20 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about little bluestem 'The Blues'
Does little bluestem 'The Blues' need sun or shade?
Little bluestem 'The Blues' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does little bluestem 'The Blues' grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 9. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does little bluestem 'The Blues' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early August to early October. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 3 | Mid August to early October |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Mid August to early October |
| Zone 5 | Early August to early October |
| Zone 6 | Early August to early October |
| Zone 7 | Early August to early October |
| Zone 8 | Early August to early October |
| Zone 9 | Late July to early October |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should little bluestem 'The Blues' be planted?
16 in (40 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3 ft (90 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many little bluestem 'The Blues' plants do I need?
At 16 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 7 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 8 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 21 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is little bluestem 'The Blues' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat little bluestem 'The Blues'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after little bluestem 'The Blues'?
Little bluestem 'The Blues' is over by early October. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Chrysanthemum 'Sheffield Pink': from late September to early November, 2½ ft tall.
- Japanese onion 'Ozawa': from early October to early November, 10 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Tatarian aster 'Jindai': from early October to early November, 4 ft tall.
What does little bluestem 'The Blues' look like in winter?
Little bluestem 'The Blues' turns the colour of straw and, left uncut, stands through the winter, with seed for the birds. Cut it down in late winter, before the new shoots come up.
Is little bluestem 'The Blues' good for bees and butterflies?
Little bluestem 'The Blues' is visited by pollinators, butterflies and songbirds.
It is a host plant: the caterpillars of common wood-nymph feed on its leaves. A butterfly can only lay its eggs on its host plants, so these do more for it than any nectar flower.
It is native to the United States (this is a named variety of the native plant).
More Schizachyrium
- Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium
- Little bluestem 'Standing Ovation' Schizachyrium scoparium 'Standing Ovation'
In these guides
- Plants that grow near black walnut
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Ornamental grasses under 3 feet
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
- Silver and grey-leaved plants
- Host plants for the common wood-nymph
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Grass
- Size
- 3 ft (90 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 16 in (40 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium tall (2½ to 3 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Early August to early October; upright spires; tan, purple
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; blue-green, silver
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Poaceae
- Comes from
- Eastern North America
- Attracts
- Pollinators, butterflies, songbirds
- Host plant for
- Common wood-nymph
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought, heat, humidity, black walnut, pollution
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.