Seven Native Grasses to Plant in Your Yard

Side Oats Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula)

A resilient warm-season perennial, side oats grama is good for lawns and large spaces. It mixes well with flowering perennials and gets its name from its flowering spikelets and seed heads, which resemble oats.

Its benefits and specs include:

• Good replacement for turfgrass, and for erosion control;
• One of the most important range grasses, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA);
• Provides seeds for birds, larval host for skipper butterflies;
• Attracts caterpillars, birds and fireflies;
• Moisture needs: Medium to dry/drought tolerant;
• Size: 1-1/2- to 3-ft. high, with a 1-1/2- to 2-ft. spread;
• Blooms July through August;
• Grow in full sun to part shade, in clay, sand or rocky soil;
• Native to much of North America;
• Hardy in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 3 to 9.