Plant of this Labor Day Weekend: Prairie Dropseed Grass
“What’s that smell?” is the most popular question from visitors at the Lurie Garden lately. The scent permeating the garden this Labor Day is often likened to buttered popcorn. It comes from our prairie dropseed grass, Sporobolus heterolepis, an Illinois native. This grass is characterized by long (up to 3 feet), 1/8-1/16 inch wide blades that reach about a foot hight and then cascade down like a fountain with tall spikelets of purple florets on long stems emerging from the clump. The scent is emanating from these flower panicles. The effect is like looking down onto a healthy crown of long hair topped with an elaborate headdress. If you return in a few weeks, this already beautiful grass will develop a golden fall color that will persist through the winter.
At Lurie Garden we cut back this grass in early March, though it’s possible to leave the dead foliage attached to the outside of the clump without affecting new growth. The dead foliage makes a good ground cover that suppresses weeds and provides organic matter to the soil. Prairie dropseed thrives in zones 3-9 and prefers well-drained soil. This grass requires very little additional watering and no fertilizers or pesticides are needed to keep prairie dropseed healthy. This grass is slow to establish, but once established is long-lived. The spikelets drop seeds in fall, hence the name dropseed, but because they are slow to establish, this grass is not invasive to a garden if you are careful about not overwatering. When planting this grass, it’s best to purchase a half-gallon size or larger to have an impact since it grows slowly the first few years. This grass was used by Native Americans to make flour for bread by grinding the seeds. Birds find the seeds tasty, so planting this grass encourages biodiversity in your garden.
http://www.luriegarden.org/node/592
Sporobolus heterolepis 'Tara'
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