Purple Lovegrass (Eragrostis spectabilis)
[err-ah-GROS-tiss spek-TAB-il-iss]

Deciduous Perennial Clump-Forming, Fine-Textured Grass in the Poaceae Family
A fine-textured native grass whose airy, reddish-purple flower sprays create a smoke-like haze over wiry green foliage in late summer and fall.

Purple Love Grass is a low, clump-forming native grass with fine, wiry, blue-green leaves that rarely exceed knee height. Its real show comes in late summer and fall, when airy, diffuse flower sprays in soft reddish-purple rise well above the foliage, creating a haze or cloud of color across the clump that gives the genus its common name. The seed heads fade to a warm tan-brown as they mature and persist into fall.

A warm-season grass, it goes dormant and tan-colored over winter, then regrows from its fibrous root system each spring. It thrives in poor, dry, sandy, or gravelly soils in full sun and tolerates heat and drought well, though it does not like prolonged standing water. It spreads modestly by both rhizomes and self-sown seed, but not aggressively.

Pros

  • Airy, smoke-like purple flower sprays in late summer and fall
  • Thrives in poor, dry, sandy soils where many plants struggle
  • Excellent drought tolerance once established
  • Native grass that supports birds and small mammals

Cons

  • Slow to establish and may take a couple of seasons to flower well
  • Foliage is fairly plain outside of its late-summer bloom display
  • Self-seeds, so may pop up where not wanted in loose, sandy soil
Why Like

A true North American native found across much of the eastern and central U.S., Purple Love Grass readily colonizes poor, sandy, or disturbed soils — roadside shoulders, dunes, and dry open ground — where few other grasses compete. Its seeds are a food source for small mammals and songbirds, and it serves as a larval host plant for several skipper butterflies, making it a quietly valuable addition to a native or pollinator-friendly planting despite its modest size.
Highlights

The diffuse, cloud-like purple inflorescence is the whole point of growing this grass — best sited where low afternoon or backlight can shine through the airy seed heads.
 

Plant Data

Mature Size 18 - 24 inches tall. 12 - 18 inches wide.
Growth Rate Slow
Sun Exposure Full Sun - Full Sun
Moisture Tolerance Dry - Medium
Zones 5a - 9b (Usually hardy to -20° F)
Tags Deciduous, Dry, Full Sun, Grasses, Illinois Native, Medium, Native to North America, Perennial, Popular For Fall
Bloom Period August To October
Flower Color Reddish-Purple
Foliage Color
 

More Info from Experts
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Pricing and Availability History

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Past Availability
2025 : 04/13 - 10/04
2024 : 05/01 - 10/05
2023 : 04/13 - 09/30

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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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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!