sideoats grass
Bouteloua curtipendula
USDA zones3 to 9
SunHandles full sun to partial shade
WaterHandles dry to moist soil
Size1.5 to 2.5 feet tall18 to 24 inches wide
- Habit
- Grass/grass-like
- Bloom season
- Spring, summer, autumn
- Bloom color
- Purplish
- Foliage color
- Green, blue-green, sometimes turning purple or red in fall
- Soil types
- Sand, loam, clay, chalk
- Soil pH
- Acid, alkaline, neutral
Garden uses
Attracts
Notes
Sideoats grass (Bouteloua curtipendula) is a grass for meadows, xeriscapes, borders, and low maintenance gardens. It is hardy to USDA zone 3, or down to -40°F (-40°C). This plant likes full sun to part shade and dry to moist soil of most types. The purplish, oat-like spikelets line one side of each stem and bleach to tan in fall, and birds love the ripe seeds. It stays short in spring, so it mixes well with spring wildflowers. It sits low on the menu for deer.
Pairs well with Nodding onion, Pussytoes, and Tall sunflower.
Native range
North and South America.