Sideoats grama
Bouteloua curtipendula ·
Small, oat-like seeds hang in a neat row down one side of each arching stem, with bright orange anthers when in flower. A tough native of dry prairies.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Early July to mid August
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around sideoats grama
The planner designed this bed around sideoats grama when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) naturalistic planting 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 sideoats grama stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Sideoats grama × 3, purple
- 2 Common thyme × 6, lavender
- 3 Sedum 'Lidakense' × 27, pink
- 4 Tatarian aster 'Jindai' × 3, purple
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Wild lupine × 7, blue
- 7 Crown imperial × 4, orange
- 8 Waterlily tulip × 5, yellow
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.
- Part of the matrix. The low fabric of grasses and groundcovers that the taller plants come up through.
- The only airy sprays. The others are dense clusters, daisies, spires and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- At the back. At 2½ ft it is seen over wild lupine (20 in) in front of it, and has nothing behind it to hide.
- A step in the back row. Next to crown imperial (3½ 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 7 weeks. From early July to mid August.
- Fills a gap. For 7 of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
- Stands through winter. Left uncut, it holds its shape until March, when the perennials have gone.
Planned as a naturalistic planting: low grasses and groundcovers, the matrix, make up 48% of the planted ground. Sideoats grama, fine in leaf, stands next to bold-leaved Tatarian aster 'Jindai', and each shows the other off. Sideoats grama and common thyme carry the bed through winter.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 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 sideoats grama goes in a border
At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium (24 in to 2½ ft). It is airy enough to see through, so it can also come forward and veil what is behind it.
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
A delicate grass for dry soil, with detail that repays a close look. Mix it through low prairie flowers as a soft filler.
- Dry meadows and prairie planting
- Slopes and poor soil
- A fine-textured filler
What to plant with sideoats grama
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Butterfly weed: purple against orange, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for six weeks; happy in the same dry soil.
- Purple coneflower: in flower together for seven weeks, from early July.
- Little bluestem: its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; happy in the same dry soil.
Questions about sideoats grama
Does sideoats grama need sun or shade?
Sideoats grama 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.
What zones does sideoats grama grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 9. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does sideoats grama flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early July to mid August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Mid July to late August |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Early July to mid August |
| Zone 6 | Early July to mid August |
| Zone 7 | Late June to early August |
| Zone 8 | Late June to early August |
| Zone 9 | Late June to early August |
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 sideoats grama be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is about its full width, so each plant keeps its own outline.
It grows 2½ ft (75 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many sideoats grama plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 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 there a native plant like sideoats grama?
Sideoats grama is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Switchgrass 'Cheyenne Sky': the same job in a bed and the same colour; 6 in taller, flowers late July to mid September.
- Yarrow: the same job in a bed; 6 in shorter, flowers mid June to late August.
- Tennessee coneflower: the same job in a bed; 6 in shorter, flowers mid June to late August.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after sideoats grama?
Sideoats grama is over by mid August. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall.
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Sedum 'Autumn Joy': from mid August to mid October, 24 in tall.
What does sideoats grama look like in winter?
Sideoats grama turns the colour of straw and, left uncut, stands through the winter. Cut it down in late winter, before the new shoots come up.
More Bouteloua
- Blue grama 'Blonde Ambition' Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition'
In these guides
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Grass
- Size
- 2½ ft (75 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle, or further forward: it is airy enough to see through
- Flowers
- Early July to mid August; airy sprays; purple
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; grey-green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. 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.