Prairie Winds Brush Strokes Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium 'Prairie Winds Brush Strokes')
skiz-ah-KEER-ee-um skoe-PAR-ee-um 'Prairie Winds Brush Strokes'

Deciduous Perennial
‘Brush Strokes’ stand vertical, bend gracefully with the wind, then return to their upright position. Powder blue stems take after their namesake before turning wine-red in early fall.

Pros

Foliage Interest

Fall Interest

Heat Tolerant

Drought Tolerant

Erosion Control

Cons

  • Needs full sun — won't perform well in shade
  • Can flop or splay open in overly rich soil
  • Slow to fill in during its first year or two
  • Prone to crown rot if mulched too heavily right against the base
 

Plant Data

Mature Size 32 - 36 inches tall. 22 - 26 inches wide.
Moisture Tolerance Dry -
Zones 3a - 9b (Usually hardy to -40° F)
Tags Blue Foliage, Container, Deciduous, Deer Resistant, Drought Tolerant, Dry, Edging, Erosion Control, Fall Color, Fall interest, Filler, Foundation, Full Sun, Good for Accents, Good for Asian Garden, Good for Beginners, Good for Borders, Good for Butterfly Garden, Good for Cottage Garden, Good for Mass Planting, Good for Rock Garden, Grasses, Low Maintenance, Modern Garden, Mounded, Native to North America, Normal Soil, Perennial, Prairie Garden, Tolerant of Loamy Soil, Tolerant of Poor Soil, Tolerant of Sandy Soil, Well-Drained Soil
Bloom Period Summer to Fall
Flower Color Tan
 

Plant Club Content

Commonly Planted with...

Echinacea purpurea, Rudbeckia hirta, Liatris spicata, Aster novae-angliae, Agastache foeniculum, Monarda fistulosa, Solidago canadensis, Panicum virgatum, Verbena bonariensis, and Coreopsis verticillata.
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Pricing and Availability History

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Field-Grown vs. Greenhouse-Grown Plants

Plants which are well-adapted to our local climate are most often field-grown (outside). Field-grown plants are generally cheaper and have the advantage of already somewhat acclimated to our cold winters, but that means they’re not artificially far along in the spring and tend to bloom at the normal time in our area.

Spring annuals and tender perennials are typically grown in Greenhouses so they can be ready and luxurious exactly when customers want them. Some perennials are also “forced” into early bloom in greenhouses. In May, there can be a very big difference between field-grown and greenhouse-grown plants of the same type. The latter typically look good right away (so they’re a great choice where that’s important), but we typically pay a premium for it.


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To secure the best prices for club members and make sure we know the current plants available from each nursery, we take orders only a couple of times a month.

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No Pricing or Availability Right Now

We order from a rotating cast of the best nurseries in the Great Lakes region. It looks like we've offered this plant in the past, but the nurseries we're working with this week don't appear to have it in stock at the moment.

Our goal is to bring as many plants together under "one roof" as possible, so we'll try hard to make it available again in the future!