Smoke Signal Little Bluestem - 72-Cell Plug Tray

Smoke Signal is a refined native little bluestem that stays strictly upright through fall. Its glaucous blue-green foliage starts taking on scarlet tones in late summer and deepens to red-purple as fall goes on.

Tiny tan seed heads appear along the upper stems in early fall. At 3 to 4 feet tall and under 2 feet wide, it fits well in borders and mass plantings and handles drought and salt.

What it looks like

Narrow, upright leaves and stems in a powdery blue-green form a strictly vertical clump 36 to 48 inches tall and 18 to 24 inches wide. In late summer the foliage takes on scarlet red tones, turning a deeper red-purple through fall. In early fall, tiny tan seed heads with fluffy silver tufts line the upper half of the stems. At peak fall color the plant is an upright column of red and purple flecked with silver.

Growing it with lavender

Smoke Signal thrives in lavender's conditions of full sun and dry, lean soil, and its blue-green summer foliage and red fall color frame lavender nicely.

Care

Plant in full sun in lean to average, well-drained soil; it is very drought tolerant and dislikes wet, rich soil, which can cause flopping or crown rot. Hardy in zones 3 to 9. Leave it standing through winter and cut it back to a few inches in early spring.

At a glance

• Botanical name: Schizachyrium scoparium
• Flower color: Tan
• Foliage: Blue-green turning scarlet and red-purple in fall
• Growth habit: Strictly upright clump
• Mature size: 36 in–4 ft tall × 18–24 in wide
• USDA hardiness zones: 3–9
• Light: full sun
• Bloom start: Early-September
• Peak bloom: Mid-September
• Bloom pattern: Single Flush
• Deer resistance: Resistant
• Pollinator value: Fair

Sizes and shipping

One full 72-cell plug tray: 72 young starter plugs of this variety (cells about 1⅓ in. wide × 2½ in. deep), rooted and ready to pot up into quarts or gallons. Best for growers and nurseries. Potted plants and plug trays ship during our live-plant seasons, March 1–May 31 and October 1–November 30; June through September is local pickup only. Plugs, potted plants and trays do not ship to AZ, CA, HI, ID, NV, OR, UT or WA.