PRESALE
Fall 2023 Shipping Schedule: 3/1/2024
Our national attention is turning to climate change. All the data say it's crunch time, and that plants are essential for building communities that can withstand these changes. A 2016 report from the EPA explored ways green infrastructure can improve community resiliency. Experts and stakeholders outlined strategies to help communities prepare for and mitigate the effects of climate change. Strategies included managing flood risk, reducing urban heat island effects, and decreasing the energy needed to manage water. Ornamental grasses and sedges can be part of the answer in all the case studies cited in the EPA report. Grasses and sedges anchor the plantings that help clean our water, reduce flooding, and lessen the effects of rising temperatures. Let's work towards a better environment.
About this Variety
Sporobolus heterolepis. Prairie Dropseed was one of the major components of the Midwestern prairie, and it is now a popular landscape plant—with good reason. It is perhaps the most ornamental of the native prairie grasses. It grows in a clumping shape with deep green narrow leaves that arch downward. In July, Sporobolus heterolepis sends up numerous stalks with delicate, open panicles shooting up over the clump. In fall, foliage turns a beautiful coppery orange color, which later fades to cream. Prairie Dropseed makes a lush, gorgeous lawn alternative with its mounded habit. It emits an unmistakable aroma some say resembles a cross between cilantro and fresh roasted nuts. Easy, beautiful, and hardy to a wide range of zones, its flowing look is a great choice for mixed plantings, meadow or prairie plantings, and contemporary landscapes.
Highlights
- Most ornamental
- Ships as a dormant young plant in a 3.35" nursery pot, in its sleeping beauty stage
- Dormant plants ship without leaves nor flowers as it's all about the roots
Exposure:
Full Sun
Blooms:
Mid Summer
Height:
Grows 2-3' tall
Spacing/Depth:
Plant 2-3' apart, set root ball even with ground level
USDA Zones:
Grow as Perennial in zones 4-9. Grow as Annual elsewhere.
Growing Instructions
Dig a hole two times the width of the Liner pot. Set top of root ball even with ground level. Combine planting mix and garden soil. Fill to ground level and tamp down firmly. Water to settle soil. Add layer of mulch to retain moisture and discourage weeds. Water regularly for the first year, then as needed once established. Feed with a quality fertilizer following application and frequency instructions, typically just before and during the growing season.
Care Tip
Overwintering: very hardy; do not overwater in winter; if left outside monitor water carefully.