MY FAVORITE PLANT

When TRD Editor Madeline Mayhood asked what my favorite plant was, my mind started dancing. The monarch magnet Asclepias species, Lobelia cardinalis, Spigelia marilandica, or annual cardinal climber that keeps my hummingbirds busy and a little less quarrelsome, the diminutive Hepatica acutiloba or the majestic Quercus phellos. So many favorites.

However, one should be decisive when Madeline asks, so for that reason, and a host of others, I landed on Andropogon gerardii, or big bluestem.

Several years ago, I stopped mowing large areas of my front field and named them “meadows.” The deer made quick work of the plugs I planted, so I let nature have its way. What a wonderful surprise when Eragrostis spectabilis, purple love grass; Panicum virgatum, switch grass; and Andropogon gerardii,big bluestem, flourished.

Also called “turkey foot” for its three-part inflorescence, big bluestem is a warm-season bunch grass growing five to seven feet with a spread of two feet. It is adaptable to a wide range of soil conditions and is best grown in a sunny location. A native prairie grass, big bluestem has an extensive fibrous root system, making it drought tolerant and very effective for soil stabilization and erosion control.

Over 20 species of songbirds feed on its seeds in the fall, and its rigid stems remain upright through winter, providing nesting sites and shelter for birds and other wildlife. Big bluestem is also the larval host of several species of skippers, including Delaware and dusted skippers.

Big bluestem’s stately structure provides movement in the garden, lush green and blue foliage that sways gently in a breeze. Cooler fall weather brings out rich orange, copper red and purple tones that persist through winter.

Often called the “King of the Prairie,” Andropogon gerardii’srange extends from Canada into Mexico, from Montana to Arizona and Maine to Florida.

A true find and favorite. . .for the moment.

—Ginny Levy, Horticulture Committee Chairman, The West Chester Garden Club, Zone V Big bluestem, Andropogon gerardii. Photos by Matt Lavin from Wikimedia Commons