Jazz Little Bluestem Grass

Hardy and resilient, ‘Jazz’ Little Bluestem Grass is a garden-worthy ornamental grass. It tolerates almost any soil type and needs only good drainage and a sunny location. A native grass with an important place in North American ecology, Little Bluestem Grass has a very wide native range. It is found from Maine and Nova Scotia south to Florida, west to Arizona, north to Montana, and east across most of southern Canada. It also grows in much of central Mexico. It is most prominent in the Great Plains and in open canopy areas in the eastern United States. Resilient Little Bluestem grass grows dense, fibrous roots several feet deep. This means they are a great choice for erosion control, they are very long-lived, and they are tolerant to floods and drought. Schizachyrium scoparium is a larval host to the Cobweb Skipper, common wood nymph, Crossline Skipper, Dakota Skipper, Dusted Skipper, Indian Skipper, Leonard's Skipper, Ottoe Skipper, and Swarthy Skipper.

For best long-term health, cut the plant back to ground level in late winter or early spring to make way for new growth. Consider planting spring-flowering bulbs around the ornamental grass, as they flower before the grass has a presence and the grass disguises the aging bulb foliage as it grows.