Bushy Bluestem

Andropogon glomeratus

Bushy Bluestem is a clump-forming  native  grass that is grown for its attractive foliage and feathery silvery-pink to white club-shaped flower/seed panicles in fall. The flatted leaf blades are typically blue-green and turn coppery-orange with the panicles which soften into billowy plumes after frost.  Fall foliage color persists well into winter providing good ornamental interest.  Grows best in  full sun and moist to wet well-drained soils.  It can be an aggressive spreader.

The Andropogon genus is a host plant for the Common Wood-Nymph butterfly and various skipper butterflies.

MAINTENANCE NEEDS: Low maintenance.  Keep soil moist.  Tolerates very light shade. Cut clumps to the ground in late winter to early spring before new shoots appear.  Warning: highly flammable.

LANDSCAPE USES: Accents or Group Plantings,  Borders,  Woodland Gardens,  Wildlife Gardens,  Naturalized Areas,  Native Gardens,  Ponds and Streams, and Containers.

COMPANION PLANTS:  Milkweed,  Tickseed,  Black-Eyed Susan

IMAGES:  Homer Edward Price,  Bushy-Bluestem (5625159477),  CC BY 2.0, (2) Photo by Tom Potterfield,  Andropogon glomeratus (bushy bluestem)?, (3) Photo by  Mary Keim,  Bushy Bluestem (Andropogon glomeratus)

*As plants have ranges in appearance they may not appear as the images shown.