| Description | Smoke Signal's Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium Smoke Signal) is a beautiful perennial grass with an upright and columnar growth habit. Its leaves start as a deep blue-green color in the spring, then change to a smoky purple during the growing season. This ornamental grass is sure to add a stunning display of colors to your garden throughout the year. |
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| Pronunciation | (skits-ah-KEER-ee-um)(skoh-PAIR-ee-um) |
| Plant Type | Perennials Hardy, Grass Ornamental |
| Hardiness Zone | 3-9 |
| Sunlight | full |
| Moisture | average, moist |
| Soil & Site | average, dry, well drained, sandy |
| Flowers | tan seed heads appear in early fall, borne on an inflorescence as a single raceme |
| Leaves | glaucous blue-green foliage begins to take on scarlet red tones in late summer, turning a deeper red-purple through the fall |
| Stems | holds the strictly upright habit through fall, resists lodging |
| Dimensions | 3-4 by 1.5-2 feet (HS) |
| Maintenance | Cut down in the fall or allow it to remain over winter to add interest in the landscape. |
| Propagation | PP27433, division |
| Native Site | Species Little Blue Stem native to the North American prairies. |
| Cultivar Origin | Walters Gardens, Zeeland Michigan USA, inventors Hans A. Hansen, Kevin A. Hurd |
| Misc Facts | Genus name Schizachyrium from schizo for "to split" in part. Species name scoparium from Latin scopa for "broom". SYN: Andropogon scoparius |
| Author's Notes | I've grown a few cultivars of Little Blue Stem that produce dark, dusky purple foliage in the fall. However, it seems like these conditions require near-perfection. In 2019, during the summer in Muskego, Wisconsin, USA, my Indian Warrior Little Blue Stem thrived with beautiful dark, dusky purple foliage. It was a very wet year, and this was the first time I obtained such good results. Maybe Smoke Signal is a better cultivar. |
| Notes & Reference | Walters Gardens web site |
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