Phonetic: spor-OB-oh-lus heh-teh-roh-LEP-iss
Photo by David J. Stang
Prairie Dropseed, also called Northern Dropseed, is a great choice of grass for your native landscape. It is a clump-forming, warm season, perennial grass with fine-textured, hair-like, medium green leaves. It forms an arching foliage mound to 15” tall and 18” wide. Foliage turns golden with orange hues in Fall, fading to light bronze in winter. When seed stalks emerge late summer, brush up against it for a cilantro smell. It excels in hot, dry conditions where it can really soak up the sun. The seeds of this species, which drop in the fall, are a great food for seed eating birds.
- Hardiness: 3-9
- Native Region: USDA Plant Database
- Sun Exposure: Full to Partial Sun
- Bloom Color: Pink and Brown
- Bloom Time: August, September, October
- Soil Type: Moist to Dry
- Mature Plant Size: 1.5-2'H, 1-2'W
- Plant Spacing: 2'
- Host Plant: Several Skippers
- Attracts: Butterflies, Birds
- Advantages: Thrives in hot, dry areas, slow to spread
- Landscape Uses: Roadside revegetation, groundcover and prairie restoration
- Companion Plants: Little Bluestem, Black Eyed Susan
- Deer Resistant
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