purpletop tridens
Tridens flavus
USDA zones4 to 10
SunHandles full sun to partial shade
WaterHandles dry to moist soil
Size3 to 5 feet tall1 to 3 feet wide
- Habit
- Grass/grass-like
- Bloom season
- Summer, autumn
- Bloom color
- Purple
- Foliage color
- Green
- Soil types
- Sand, loam, clay
Garden uses
Attracts
Notes
Purpletop tridens (Tridens flavus) is a grass for pollinator gardens, winter interest, and woodland plantings. It is hardy to USDA zone 4, or down to -30°F (-34°C). This plant likes full sun to part shade and dry to moist, sandy, loamy, or clay soil. Drooping branches carry widely spaced reddish-purple spikelets, and the plant turns brown in fall. It sits low on the menu for deer. Butterflies, bees, and birds visit it.
Pairs well with Blue sage, Sundrops, and Christmas fern.
Native range
AL, AR, CT, DC, and 32 more places. See all 36
AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, and WV.