Spring and Summer have past by this year in a blink of a eye. With moving and projects to attend I have neglected the Plant of the Month. With Autumn approaching it is the grasses that take center stage as the flowers of spring and summer fade away. It is the texture and the reds, rusts, browns, tans, and burgundies of grasses that dominate the cool fall breezes. Side-Oats Grama (Bouteloua crutipdendula) is featured the Plant of the Month since noticed it thriving in a planting on a steep restored slope along the Mississippi along with Blue Grama (Bouteloua gracilis) and Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium). The masses of grasses not only help hold a steep slope but add movement to the landscape.
BOTANICAL NAME Bouteloua curtipendula
COMMON NAME Side-Oats Grama
DESCRIPTION Native grass of Minnesota that forms 2-3 foot clumps of wiry stems. Purplish, oat-like capsules form on one side of thin stems. Tiny purple flowers appear from these capsules before these spikelets bleach to a tan color in the fall. Basal foliage often turns purple or red in fall. Can spread by rhizomes or seed.
FAMILY Poaceae
HEIGHT 30 inches
WIDTH 24 inches
HABIT Upright
ZONES 3 to 8
EXPOSURE Full Sun
FLOWER COLOR Orange to Red
BLOOM SEASON July to August
COMPANION PLANTS Echinacea, Coreopsis, Liatris, Agastache
GROWING AND MAINTENANCE TIPS Plant in well draining soils that have medium to dry moisture. Tolerates sandy soils to heavy clays. Cut back in late winter.
NOTES Mass in meadows, prairies, slopes or native gardens. Cited for as a food source for at least five types of skipper moths. Honors two Spanish brothers Claudius (d.1842) and Exteban Boutelou (d. 1813) that were professors in botany and agriculture.