Andropogon gerardi
 Big Bluestem Plants & Seed
(an-dro-PO-gon   je-RAR-de)
Easyliving Native Perennial Wildflowers
Native Wild Flower Seed for Home Landscaping & Prairie Restoration

photo by cj   

For other flowers visit the wildflower seed list , to order copy the orderform or 
email questions, comments, and orders to john@easywildflowers.com   

Some grass seeds are very bulky, please email for shipping charges on ounce or pound quantities of grass seed.

Andropogon gerardi, Big Bluestem is a clump forming warm season native perennial grass usually growing 3 to  6 feet tall but occasionally up to 9 feet. The lower stems are a purplish or bluish color and the leaves are 1/2 inch wide and up to 20 inches long.  The arrangement of the flowers in three dense elongate clusters is the reason for the common name of turkey-foot grass.  It grows best in moist well drained soil in full sun and is a major component of the tallgrass prairie.  Native grasses are host to several Skipper butterflies.  Use Big Bluestem as an accent plant in a formal bed or in the meadow garden with Coneflowers, Black-eyed Susans, Blazing Stars, Asters, and Goldenrods. 

 Alternate Names

Bluejoint beardgrass, poptillo gigante, turkeyfoot, Andropogon chrysocomus, Andropogon furcatus, Andropogon gerardii var. chrysocomus, Andropogon hallii var. grandiflorus, Andropogon provincialis, Andropogon provincialis subvar. pycnanthus, Andropogon provincialis subvar. furcatus, Andropogon provincialis subvar. genuinus, Andropogon provincialis subvar. tennesseensis, Andropogon provincialis subvar. lindheimeri, Andropogon tennesseensis, Sorghum provinciale.

 Conservation: Big bluestem is the dominant grass species of the Midwestern tallgrass prairie.  It is mixed with other native prairie species for prairie restoration and highway revegetation.  While it does best in moist soils, it can be used for mine reclamation, logging road restoration and other restoration areas that have sandy or droughty conditions.

 Erosion control: Big bluestem is planted to stabilize soil.  Rhizomes are typically 1 to 2 inches below the soil surface, while the main roots can extend downward to 10 feet.  Big bluestem is also planted to provide aboveground protection against wind erosion.  It is used for road cuts, pipelines, detention basin slopes, and areas that need temporary cover during the restoration process.

 Ethnobotanic: Chippewa Indians used the root of big bluestem as a diuretic and to alleviate stomach pains.  Extracts of the leaf blades were used as a wash for fevers or as an analgesic.  The plants were also used to fasten the support poles of dwellings.  Moist grass was laid on hot stones to prevent steam from escaping during cooking.  It was also used to cover fruit during ripening and under fruit while drying.

Forage: Big bluestem is a high quality forage species for all classes of livestock.  Crude protein content of 16-18% is maintained from May through August but drops below 6% in September and October.  It is often cultivated as a pasture grass and for hay-making.

 Landscaping: Big bluestem is used in wildflower meadows and prairie plantings.  It is also effective as a rear border or accent in native plant gardens.

 Wildlife: Big bluestem provides shelter for nesting birds and insects.  Songbirds and prairie chickens consume the seeds while white-tailed deer and bison graze vegetative parts.

 Description - General: Grass Family (Poaceae).  Big bluestem is a perennial warm-season grass.  It can be distinguished from other warm-season grasses by blue coloration at the base of the culm and purplish, 3-parted flower clusters that resemble a turkey’s foot.  The culms are erect, up to 3 m tall, stout, and are usually covered with a blue-tinted waxy layer.  Leaf blades are flat, 15-60 cm long, 0.5-1 cm wide, smooth below and rough above.  The inflorescence is typically composed of three spike-like racemes, but can have as many as seven.  The racemes bear paired spikelets that are about 1 cm long.  Flowering takes place July through October.  The foliage changes color seasonally, and culms stay erect through the winter.

 Distribution: Big bluestem is native to the United States.  It occurs in southern Canada, from Maine to Montana, south to Florida and New Mexico and into Mexico.  For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site (http://plants.usda.gov).

 Habitat: Big bluestem is found in open woods, prairies, meadows, along riverbanks, and roadsides.  It is especially abundant in lowland prairies, overflow sites, and sandy areas.

 Adaptation-  It is best adapted to moist, sandy or clay loams but also occurs in dry or shallow soils.  It does well in full sun or partial shade.  Prairie conditions, like low nutrient and moisture content, have conditioned big bluestem for use in well-drained soil with low fertility.  It is not tolerant of heavy clays, extremely wet bottomlands, deep sands, high salinity, or high lime.

 Big bluestem is generally shorter in the northern portion of its range, and taller in the southern portion of its range.  It is a rhizomatous, sod-forming grass in the tallgrass prairie and has a bunchgrass appearance in more arid regions.

 Establishment - Collect big bluestem seeds when the seed head no longer has a creamy center, usually in September and October.  Dry seeds in paper bags for 2 to 4 weeks.  Seeds can be stored up to 7 months at 50^oF and 50% humidity.  Cold stratification (40^oF, 35% humidity) may improve germination uniformity.  Fill germination trays or pots with moist soil, compacted at bottom.  Sow seeds by hand, covering with a thin layer of soil.  Keep soil evenly moist during germination and do not use fertilizer. 

 Greenhouse establishment will occur at alternating day/night temperatures (set at 75/65^oF) and 12-14 daylight hours (may be extended artificially).  Transplant seedlings into plug cells.  Soil does not need to be consistently moist at this stage.  In early to late spring, move plugs to cold frame.  Seedlings are ready for outplanting when the plant and soil can be completely pulled from the pot as one unit.  Outplanting can take place from late May to early October.

 Seeds can be sown directly outside from late winter to early spring.  Emergence will occur in 4 weeks with several irrigations.  Plants will be ready for harvest in mid-summer to late fall.

 First-season growth is often slow.  Rhizomatic regeneration in following years increases the growth rate.

Management - Underground rhizomes resprout following fire disturbance.  Regeneration is slow if fire occurs during the summer (active growth stage).  Regeneration following springtime fire is much more vigorous because the rhizomes have winter-stores of carbohydrates.

Big bluestem can withstand substantial grazing.  However if it is continually grazed closer than 6 to 8 inches, it will be out competed by other grass species.  It is highly palatable to livestock during spring and summer and becomes coarse and less palatable during the fall and winter.  Hay should be mowed in early to mid-summer to maintain high nutrition quality.

 Cultivars, Improved, and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

NRCS Plants Materials Program (PMC) has released several cultivars of big bluestem.  The Bismarck, ND PMC released 'Bison' for its adaptation to northern climates.  It is used for erosion control, upland game bird cover and nesting, nature trails, rural beautifica-tion and other native plantings.  The Knox City, TX PMC released ‘Eldorado’ and ‘Earl’ cultivars for their forage potential.  Other cultivars include ‘Kaw’ (Manhattan, KS), ‘Niagara’ (Big Flats, NY), and ‘Rountree’ (Elsberry, MO).

Native Big Bluestem grass occurs naturally in upland prairies, glades, dry upland forest openings, and savannas in the eastern U.S. west to Montana and Arizona, and Mexico into Canada. Gramineae (Grass Family)

The map below shows areas where native big bluestem warm season grass grows wild, it is hardy over a much wider area if planted.  Plant in USDA plant hardiness zones 2 to 9.

Use the chart below for shipping charges on flower seeds, to order copy the order form or email questions, comments & orders to john@easywildflowers.com 

please email for shipping charges on ounce or pound quantities of grass seed.

Please contact us by email with your address for shipping charges & availability on  Zizia aptera Golden Alexander potted plants

We accept payment by check, money order, and through Paypal

The minimum seed order amount is $10, this can be a combination of different seeds.

Home    wildflower seed list   potted plant list  wildflower book list 
  growing and propagating info   invasive plants list   flower photographs 
  your comments   order form   search form   table of contents

Easyliving Wildflowers
PO Box  522
Willow Springs,  Mo.  65793
phone-fax 417-469-2611 

Plant distribution map complements of USDA, NRCS. 2001. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.1
  (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.