Sorghastrum Species, Indian Grass, Yellow Indiangrass

This is a very beautiful clump-forming grass in meadows here in Massachusetts, easy and adaptable. Not very conspicuous until the scapes ...Read Moreshoot up in late summer bearing showy panicles of flowers. The flower scapes are upright, at least in full sun and low-fertility soils. Fall color is a luminous orange, and winter presence is excellent, buff/pink in color. Flower scapes remain upright through heavy snows till spring.

It is native to 43 states and 5 provinces. Declared endangered in Maine and "of special concern" in RI.

This is one of the major tall grasses of the Midwestern prairie along with Big Bluestem and Common Switchgrass, and it is also native to ...Read Morethe East in native meadows. I've seen it looking good in various prairie or meadow restorations in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. In late spring to mid-summer it is a tall clump of broad blue-green blades. In late summer it sends up it tall flowering stalks. I have not grown it yet as a natural garden plant. It may need some staking in a garden and it does some self-sowing around as Big Bluestem does, but should remain as a clump. I find it to be beautiful warm-season perennial grass. It is sold by native plant nurseries, as Prairie Nursery in Westfield, WI or North Creek Nursery in southeast PA.

Jackson, Michigan. Zone 5. I started Indian Grass indoors from seed. It survived the Michigan winter in my garden. My soil is very sa...Read Morendy. The plant is very slow to sprout in the spring. Growth does not speed up until summer. Informal and naturalized appearance. Not much of a vertical grass.

Native to the tallgrass prairie region of the U.S., this is probably my favorite tall prairie grass for looks. It is especially nice in ...Read Morethe fall and winter because of the attractive seed heads, and I highly recommend you don't cut it back before spring because of its winter interest. I don't think you need pay for a named cultivar as the species is impressive IMO.

It likes full sun, and will tolerate all but the wettest conditions (does best on well-drained mesic to dry soil though). It grows easily from seed, with no pre-treatment necessary. It ranges from about 4' - 6' tall (although I've seen it about 7' in a prairie remnant), so it may look a bit odd in a really small space. Very drought tolerant.

I doubt this could be a noxious or invasive weed, at least in the U.S., as it is native in every state in the lower 48 from Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, and New Mexico east. It is also listed as endangered in Maine. According to the USDA plant database, it is not on any state's noxious weed list.