- Prairie grasses<\/a><\/li>
- Prairie plants<\/a><\/li>
- Prairie sedges and rushes<\/a><\/li>
- Prairie shrubs<\/a><\/li><\/ul> \t\t\t<\/div> \t\t<\/div><\/div>
Native Minnesota prairie grasses <\/span><\/h2>
A prairie plant has a deep and extensive root system that keeps the soil structure firm and resilient. They\u2019re more resistant to drought and fire while their flexible stems and low-growth help them withstand wind. <\/p>
Native prairie grasses naturally occur and thrive in Minnesota\u2019s prairie ecosystems, i.e., they are adapted to the cool, snowy winters and humid, hot summers. These grasses play a crucial role in the ecosystem by improving soil health, providing food and favorable habitat for wildlife here, and managing water runoff. <\/p>
These are some of the best native prairie grasses for your landscape.<\/p>
Prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis)<\/em><\/span><\/h3>
![\"large](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/rsz_20438010001_a4fbf38604_c.jpg\")
Joshua Mayer<\/a> | Flickr | CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure> This is an all-purpose prairie plant that, once established, is super low-maintenance. It grows as tall as 3 feet, and its low, fountain-like appearance lends a soft look to any landscape. Prairie dropseed<\/a> is used as an ornamental grass with narrow, long leaves that form attractive round tufts. <\/p>
The plant thrives in a variety of growing conditions, and has an aroma similar to coriander or buttered popcorn. <\/p>
Native to type of prairie: <\/strong>Tall grass and mixed prairie regions<\/p>
Ecological benefits: <\/strong>Provides habitat and food for birds and various wildlife species. Attracts pollinators like bees and butterflies and helps prevent soil erosion.<\/p>
Maintenance needs: <\/strong>Low <\/p>
What it looks like: <\/strong><\/p>
- Leaves and stem: <\/em>Long, narrow arching leaves in tufts range in color, changing from rich green in summer to golden, orange hues in fall to light bronze in winter. <\/li>
- Flowers: <\/em>From late July to mid-September, you will see a cloudy haze of tiny flower heads with their unique fragrance rising to 36 inches on slender stems, above the foliage in late summer to early fall. <\/li>
- Fruit: <\/em>Produces a small fruit along the branched structures that hold the flowers. It drops from the branch once mature.<\/li> <\/ul>
Favorable growing conditions:<\/strong><\/p>
- Soil:<\/em> Moist but well-drained, chalk, clay, loam<\/li>
- Sunlight:<\/em> <\/strong>Full sun<\/li>
- USDA hardiness zones: <\/em>3 to 9<\/li> <\/ul>
Characteristics:<\/strong><\/p>
- Life cycle: <\/em>Perennial<\/li>
- Fruiting season: <\/em>Autumn<\/li>
- Mature height: <\/em>2 to 3 feet<\/li>
- Edibility: <\/em>Not known to be toxic<\/li> <\/ul>
Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)<\/em><\/span><\/h3>
![\"big](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/big-bluestem.jpg\")
Matt Lavin<\/a> | Flickr | CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure> Also known as \u201cking of the prairie,\u201d big bluestem<\/a> is a warm-season tall grass that reaches as high as 8 feet (if protected from grazing). It\u2019s quite easy to identify because of its distinctive finger-like array of spikes atop tall stems. <\/p>
The grass is tufted, long-lived, and super easy to grow. Once established, its deep fibrous roots help it resist drought and withstand salt. Ecologists often use this beautiful ornamental grass for prairie restoration. <\/p>
Native to type of prairie: <\/strong>Short grass prairie regions<\/p>
Also known as: <\/strong>Turkey foot, broomsedge, bluestem<\/p>
Ecological benefits: <\/strong>Big bluestem develops deep root systems that help prevent and control soil erosion. It also provides excellent wildlife cover and food. <\/p>
Maintenance needs: <\/strong>Low to moderate <\/p>
What it looks like: <\/strong><\/p>
- Leaves and stem: <\/em>Forms upright clumps of stems with flattened, dark green leaves. These leaves are crowded on the lower stem mostly and are flat, green to blue-green, and up to 18 inches long with a textured surface and white, long, spreading hair. <\/li>
- Flowers: <\/em>Purplish to yellowish 3-parted, finger-like spikes clustered at the top of the stem, resembling turkey feet, and tips of branches that bear <\/li>
- Fruit: <\/em>Golden brown, approximately as long as the spikelet, and narrowly elliptical<\/li> <\/ul>
Favorable growing conditions:<\/strong><\/p>
- Soil:<\/em> Well-drained, average to dry<\/li>
- Sunlight:<\/em> <\/strong>Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight daily)<\/li>
- USDA hardiness zone: <\/em>3 to 9<\/li> <\/ul>
Characteristics:<\/strong><\/p>
- Life cycle: <\/em>Perennial<\/li>
- Fruiting season: <\/em>July to August<\/li>
- Mature height: <\/em>2 to 8 feet<\/li>
- Edibility: <\/em>Non-edible<\/li> <\/ul>
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum)<\/em><\/span><\/h3>
![\"closeup](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Switchgrass.jpg\")
Matt Lavin<\/a> | Flickr | CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure> This summer perennial grass is a resilient and versatile warm-season grass that\u2019s adapted to a variety of soil types and is popular in landscaping for its tall, graceful appearance. <\/p>
Switchgrass<\/a> is robust and resists many pest and plant diseases. It also withstands drought pretty well. Its attractive appearance makes switchgrass a popular ornamental grass amongst Minnesota homeowners. <\/p>
Also known as: <\/strong>Tall panic grass<\/p>
Native to type of prairie: <\/strong>Tall grass prairies<\/p>
Ecological benefits: <\/strong>Used for various native plant restoration projects as it develops a deep, extensive root system that often reaches 10 feet or more into the soil, making it effective for erosion control. It\u2019s also an important forage and biomass crop. <\/p>
Maintenance needs: <\/strong>Low <\/p>
What it looks like: <\/strong><\/p>
- Leaves and stem: <\/em>Has tall, upright stems, reaching 3 to 8 feet in height. It has long and narrow leaves with a nice, distinctive blue-green color that turns golden-ish in the fall.<\/li>
- Flowers: <\/em>Produces finely textured, reddish-purple open panicles of small flowers mid-summer in green, purple, or bronze color from late summer to fall. They appear to be hovering over the foliage like a lovely, airy cloud. <\/li>
- Fruit: <\/em>Bears a dry and grain-like fruit (seed without plume)<\/li> <\/ul>
Favorable growing conditions:<\/strong><\/p>
- Soil:<\/em> Moist but well-drained, chalk, clay, loam<\/li>
- Sunlight:<\/em> <\/strong>Full sun and partial shade<\/li>
- USDA hardiness zone: <\/em>5 to 9<\/li> <\/ul>
Characteristics:<\/strong><\/p>
- Life cycle: <\/em>Perennial<\/li>
- Fruiting season: <\/em>Summer till early fall <\/li>
- Mature height: <\/em>3 to 6 feet<\/li>
- Edibility: <\/em>Yes, but may be toxic for sheep, goats, and horses<\/li> <\/ul>
Native flowering prairie plants<\/span><\/h2>
Just like native prairie grasses, these flowering plants are adapted to the climate and soil in Minnesota and grow with minimal care. Here are our picks.<\/p>
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)<\/em><\/span><\/h3>
![\"vibrant](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/rsz_43403579244_9255395873_c.jpg\")
robin_ottawa (I’m on a phone!)<\/a> | Flickr | CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure> Belonging to the sunflower family, black-eyed Susan<\/a> boasts iconic bright yellow flowers in prairies all across Minnesota. <\/p>
Black-eyed Susans are also called coneflowers because of their cone-shaped heads and are one of the most common Minnesota native plants. The flower is robust and attracts a good amount of pollinators with its halo of yellow petals that lure them in, acting as a landing pad. <\/p>
Also known as: <\/strong>Brown-eyed Susan, Yellow Ox-eye Daisy, brown Betty, yellow daisy<\/p>
Native to type of prairie: <\/strong>Tall grass prairies, mixed-grass prairies<\/p>
Ecological benefits: <\/strong>Attracts a variety of pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and insects, and provides seeds for birds too. It also improves soil stability and prevents erosion with its deep root system.<\/p>
Maintenance needs: <\/strong>Low to moderate<\/p>
What it looks like: <\/strong><\/p>
- Leaves and stem: <\/em>It has large, narrow, lance-shaped, toothed leaves and hairy, sturdy stems. <\/li>
- Flowers: <\/em>Famous Rudbeckia hirta, daisy-like flowers are large, with bright yellow to orange petals that surround a dark, purplish-black central cone. They appear from early summer to fall and are often used as cut flowers giving you 8 to ten days of vase life. <\/li>
- Fruit: <\/em>The central disk of the flower becomes a head of dry, dark-brown-black seeds which is consumed by birds. <\/li> <\/ul>
Favorable growing conditions:<\/strong><\/p>
- Soil:<\/em> Moist but well-drained, chalk, clay, loam<\/li>
- Sunlight:<\/em> <\/strong>Full sun<\/li>
- USDA hardiness zone: <\/em>3 to 9<\/li> <\/ul>
Characteristics:<\/strong><\/p>
- Life cycle: <\/em>Annual or short-lived perennial<\/li>
- Fruiting season: <\/em>July to the first frost<\/li>
- Mature height: <\/em>1 to 3 feet<\/li>
- Edibility: <\/em>No<\/li> <\/ul>
Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)<\/em><\/span><\/h3>
![\"close](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/butterfly-milkweed.jpg\")
Joshua Mayer<\/a> | Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure> - Fruiting season: <\/em>July to the first frost<\/li>
- Sunlight:<\/em> <\/strong>Full sun<\/li>
- Flowers: <\/em>Famous Rudbeckia hirta, daisy-like flowers are large, with bright yellow to orange petals that surround a dark, purplish-black central cone. They appear from early summer to fall and are often used as cut flowers giving you 8 to ten days of vase life. <\/li>
- Fruiting season: <\/em>Summer till early fall <\/li>
- Sunlight:<\/em> <\/strong>Full sun and partial shade<\/li>
- Flowers: <\/em>Produces finely textured, reddish-purple open panicles of small flowers mid-summer in green, purple, or bronze color from late summer to fall. They appear to be hovering over the foliage like a lovely, airy cloud. <\/li>
- Fruiting season: <\/em>July to August<\/li>
- Sunlight:<\/em> <\/strong>Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight daily)<\/li>
- Flowers: <\/em>Purplish to yellowish 3-parted, finger-like spikes clustered at the top of the stem, resembling turkey feet, and tips of branches that bear <\/li>
- Fruiting season: <\/em>Autumn<\/li>
- Sunlight:<\/em> <\/strong>Full sun<\/li>
- Flowers: <\/em>From late July to mid-September, you will see a cloudy haze of tiny flower heads with their unique fragrance rising to 36 inches on slender stems, above the foliage in late summer to early fall. <\/li>
- Prairie plants<\/a><\/li>
![\"photo](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Carex-vulpinoidea.jpg\")