Sporobolus heterolepis
Growing Information
• Plant Type: Grass
• Sunlight: Sun, part shade
• Soils: Dry, sandy, average
• Bloom Time: Pink and brown tints in June, July, August
• Size: 1-3 feet in height; 1-3 foot spread
Plant as a groundcover, border, or accent plant in hot and dry sites. It has ornamental fine- textured bunches with fragrant flowers which become delicate seed heads that appear above the tufts of grass in mid-summer. Slow to establish and mature.
Garden Companions
Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), Purple Lovegrass (Eragrostis spectabilis), Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), Narrowleaf Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium), Slender Goldentop (Euthamia caroliniana)
Nature Benefits
• Larval food plant for Leonard’s Skipper, grasshoppers, and leafhoppers.
• Provides nesting materials/structure for native bees and small mammals.
• Seeds eaten by songbirds.
Native Habitat
Occurs in dry prairies, fields, and roadsides.
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