Photo source: Turner Seed
Texas grasses are a striking addition to the landscape, asking very little of us in return to look their best. Bunch grasses keep a tidy, columnar shape with texture and movement that provides year-round interest. Low on upkeep and water need, they really shine in fall and winter when other plants are past their prime. Unlike your lawn, these no-mow beauties offer a special bonus for native bees, birds and butterflies.
How Do Texas Grasses Help Bees and Butterflies?
Even though grasses don’t provide nectar, they’re vital to the lifecycle of many pollinators and other beneficial insects. Native bunch grasses give ground-nesting bumble bee queens protected sites to overwinter. Over 70% of native bees nest in the ground; adding grasses is one way to ensure more pollinators survive to emerge in the spring. The native grasses featured below also provide seeds for birds and are deer resistant. Discover even more elements to help pollinators and other beneficial insects make it through the winter from the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.
Many species of skipper caterpillars develop only on big and little bluestem grasses. Similar to how monarchs are tied to milkweed, skippers rely on these specific grasses to complete their lifecycle. As an added bonus, the seed heads last through the cool months, feeding birds and squirrels too.
Sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula): The State Grass of Texas
Staying short in the spring, this grass mixes well with early wildflowers. Purple oat-like flowers with orange accents fall from one side of graceful arching stems. Blue-green growth turns pale yellow in the fall, with the basal leaves often taking on hues of red and purple. Sideoats grama makes a nice compliment to little bluestem but doesn’t compete well with taller grasses.
This grass enjoys full-to-part sun, low-to-moderate moisture, and grows between two to three feet tall. Sideoats grama is a host plant for 14 species of butterflies and moths, including green and dotted skippers.
Get all the details from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Plant Finder Database.
Sideoats grama grass
Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardi): A Butterfly Magnet
Big bluestem is one of the “big four” native grasses of the tall grass prairies that dominated the center of the continent (along with Indiangrass, little bluestem and switchgrass). Songbirds love the cover it provides, as well as cozy nesting material and tasty seeds. Blue-green blades turn russet in fall and winter. Plant this beauty where you want to make a statement or provide a backdrop for fall-blooming asters and goldenrod.
This grass enjoys full-to-part sun, dry conditions to moderate moisture, and grows between four to eight feet tall. Big bluestem is a host plant for 22 species, including the dusted, Delaware, crossline and swarthy skippers.
Get all the details from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Plant Finder Database.
Big bluestem grass
Source: U.S. Perennials
Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium): Small and Striking
Bluish spring blades may give this grass its name, but the deep mahogany red fall color topped with white puffy seed heads are the most striking features of this two-foot-tall grass. Planted in multiples of five or seven, it makes a dramatic focal point when the rest of the landscape looks drab in winter. Plants stay compact, reaching about a foot across.
This grass enjoys full-to-part sun, dry conditions, and grows between 1.5 to two feet tall. Little bluestem is a host plant for 8 species of skippers, including the dusted, crossline and swarthy skippers.
Get all the details from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Plant Finder Database
Little bluestem grass
Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans): A Glorious Golden Accent
This grey-green grass provides a subtle backdrop most of the year until it erupts with golden flower plumes reaching up to six feet by October. Leaves turn shades of orange to purple. Plant two or three together to make a dramatic statement in place of a shrub or small tree.
This grass enjoys full-to-part sun, moderate moisture, and grows between three to eight feet tall. Indiangrass is a host plant for both the pepper and salt skipper.
Get all the details from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Plant Finder Database
Indiangrass
Source: Georgia Native Plant Society
Bushy Bluestem (Andropogon glomeratus): A Grass for Wet Places
Bold, feathery flower heads catch the light and add texture to autumn beds. Since it is especially striking when backlit by the sun, plant this bunch grass where the sun will glow through the copper leaves. Bush bluestem likes to have its feet wet, so plant in a place that stays moist such as near a downspout or low area where water collects. Be sure that it is in full sun; this grass doesn’t tolerate shade.
This grass enjoys full sun, wet conditions, and grows between two to five feet tall. Bushy bluestem is a host plant for many skippers and satyrs.
Get all the details from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Plant Finder Database
Bushy bluestem grass
For more great Texas grasses and beautiful pictures of them in yards, check out this article from Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
For more information, contact the Environmental Services Department at enviro@thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov or 281-210-3800.