Schizachyrium scoparium Wild West

Schizachyrium scoparium 'Wild West' is a perennial grass with a unique charm inherited from its ancestor, a beautiful grass from North American prairies. With an upright habit, this small variety has foliage that changes colour throughout the seasons, gradually transitioning from a spring green to a flamboyant coppery red in autumn. The flowering occurs in summer, in the form of graceful pinkish inflorescences that turn silvery when dried on pink stems. An excellent grass for dry terrain!

Schizachyrium scoparium, formerly known as Andropogon scoparius, is a plant from the Poaceae family. This species is endemic to the high plains of North America, but is also found from Quebec to Mexico. Americans call it "little bluestem" or "beard grass". Vigorous, extremely robust, accustomed to tough competition with other plants, and adapted to difficult conditions, it withstands cold and drought without flinching, and tolerates poor soils. It is the chosen grass to officially represent the states of Nebraska and Kansas.

Schizachyrium scoparium 'Wild West' is a recent selection, shorter in height, with green foliage that changes colour from summer onwards. The plant forms a 60cm (24in) tall cluster when in bloom, with a width of 40cm (16in), slowly spreading to form a dense and upright tuft. It consists of a low rosette of soft, linear leaves, and upright stems among which appear delicate inflorescences in summer (between July and September). These are narrow clusters, measuring 3 to 15cm (1 to 6in) long, bearing slender spikelets that are white, maturing to a bluish-ashen to silvery, then pink-red hue. The foliage starts to turn orange as early as August. By mid-September, the entire plant takes on intense orange, copper, and red colours, which gradually fade to a straw or light chocolate tone. This colouring is particularly pronounced in regions with large temperature variations in autumn.

Schizachyrium scoparium 'Wild West' has the huge advantage of staying upright without slumping, unlike many other grasses, which allows it to remain decorative until the heart of winter. It can withstand everything except heavy, waterlogged soils, and as such, it is very useful in ornamental dry gardens or in poor, barren, or sandy soils. It pairs well with perovskias, catmints, shrubby salvias, echinaceas, kniphofias, and shrubby wormwoods. To create a contrast in forms, it can be paired with hybrid mulleins, for example.