Shooting Star Nursery, Kentucky
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Grasses, sedges and rushes are important components of most plant communities. Among their many benefits, grasses provide weed and erosion control and offer structural support for tall wildflowers. They provide valuable wildlife food and cover and add late season interest in the garden. Their graceful leaves and plumes, usually produced in mid to late summer, make a nice background for colorful wildflowers. Species can be grouped or planted alone as striking specimens. Many of the prairie grasses are deep-rooted and highly tolerant of fire and drought. This group is now finding valuable use in agriculture as nutritious, high yielding, warm season forage crops. Those marked with a water drop aquatic have been used successfully in septic constructed wetlands.
    cut/dried flowers cut/dried flowers edible edible medicinal medicinal xeriscape xeriscape aquatic aquatic native to KY native to KY
    Full Shade full shade part shade, part sun Full Sun full sun Songbirds songbird food Hummingbirds hummingbird food Butterflies butterfly food
Big BluestemAndropogon gerardii
BIG BLUESTEM   native to KYcut/dried flowersxeriscapefull sun part shade/part sunsongbirds
3-pronged, green-purple flowerheads resemble a "turkey foot" (another name for this grass) on tall stems above dense clumps of arching blue-green leaves. A most characteristic species of the tall-grass prairie. Well-drained to wet soil.

6-8 '    
Andropogon ternarius
SILVER BEARDGRASS   native to KYxeriscapefull sunpart shade/part sun
Resembles little bluestem but with silvery feather-like plumes borne in yellow bracts along stems. Ribbon-like leaves. Nice garden and landscaping grass. Well-drained soil.

3-3 1/2 '  
Andropogon virginicus
BROOMSEDGE   native to KYxeriscapefull sunpart shade/part sun
A familiar native grass of old fields, distinguished by the showy reddish autumn color of stems and leaves. Well-drained, often poor soil.

3-3 1/2 '  
Bouteloua curtipendula
SIDEOATS GRAMA   native to KYxeriscapefull sunpart shade/part sunsongbirds
Small colorful flower spikes dangle alongside slender stems. Ribbon-like leaves turn golden in autumn. Well-drained soil.

2-3 '  
Carex frankii
FRANK'S SEDGE   native to KYaquaticfull sunpart shade/part sunsongbirds
Small, box-shaped, light green flowerheads on stout stems and attractive grass-like foliage. Moist to wet soil.

2-3 '  
Carex vulpinoidea
FOX SEDGE   native to KYaquaticfull sunpart shade/part sunsongbirds
A hardy sedge for moist to wet soils. Small brown and green flowers clustered on slender green stems. Tolerates moist to wet soil.

2-3 '  
Bottlebrush GrassElymus hystrix (Hystrix patula)
BOTTLEBRUSH GRASS   native to KY cut/dried flowersfull shadepart shade/part sun
A striking grass with long-bristled flower spikelets widely spaced along flowering stalks, giving the appearance of a bottlebrush. Nice as an ornamental clump or for naturalizing in shady to semi-shady areas.

Jun-Aug.     2-4 '
Eragrostis spectabilis
PURPLE LOVE GRASS   native to KY xeriscapefull sun
Good texture plant for late summer. Well drained soil. Appears as a fluffy bronze-red cloud when seed heads are full.

Red.     Summer-Fall     18-24 "
Common RushJuncus effusus
COMMON RUSH   native to KYaquaticcut/dried flowers full sunpart shade/part sunsongbirds
Small flowers clustered in a graceful spray from the side of attractive, dark green, rounded stems. Moist to wet soil or shallow water.

4-6 '  
Koeleria cristata
JUNE GRASS   native to KYcut/dried flowers xeriscapefull sunpart shade/part sun
A slender grass with showy, spike-like panicles and ribbon-like leaves. Well-drained soil. Nice for landscaping in masses.

May-Jun.     2 ' 
Panicum virgatum
PRAIRIE SWITCHGRASS   native to KYaquaticfull sunpart shade/part sunsongbirds
Golden spikelets in large open panicles; retains color in fall. Widely used for soil stabilization–forms dense sod in moist soils, tends to bunching habit in dry soils. Tolerates saturated soil and shallow water.

3-5 ' 
Schizachyrium scoparium
LITTLE BLUESTEM   native to KYcut/dried flowersxeriscape full sunpart shade/part sun
Feathery white plumes in small bracts that zigzag along slender stems. Ribbon-like leaves turn russet in fall. Nice medium height grass for landscaping.

2-4 ' 
Dark Green BulrushScirpus atrovirens
DARK GREEN BULRUSH   native to KYaquaticcut/dried flowersfull sunpart shade/part sun
A large sedge with rounded, dark green-brown flower clusters in umbrella-shaped panicles and long strap-like leaves. Moist to wet soils and shallow water. Attractive plant for wet meadow or bog garden.

3-5 ' 
Sorghastrum nutans
INDIAN GRASS   native to KYcut/dried flowersxeriscapefull sunpart shade/part sunsongbirds
A characteristic tall-grass prairie species with slender feathery, orange-brown flower plumes. Ribbon-like leaves form graceful bunch. Moist to dry soils.

5-8 ' 
Sporobolus heterolepis
PRAIRIE DROPSEED   native to KYxeriscapefull sunsongbirds
An upland grass with golden florets on long arching stalks in open panicles, and long tapering leaves in graceful clumps that turn tawny gold in autumn. Well-drained soil. Great for landscaping in masses.

2-4 ' 
Common CattailTypha latifolia
COMMON CATTAIL   native to KYaquaticfull sunsongbirds
Tall plants with narrow elongate leaves and thick brown seed heads atop tall stems. Good wildlife cover in shallow water.

5-8 ' 
Uniola latifolium
RIVER OATS   native to KYcut/dried flowersfull sunsongbirds
Flattened florets dangle gracefully from slender arching branches. Bamboo-like, blue-green leaves. Average to moist soil. Nice in dried arrangements.

3-4 ' 
Shooting Star Nursery
160 Soards Road
Georgetown, KY 40324
 Phone:  (502) 867-7979
Fax:      (502) 867-7677
Email:  ShootingStarNursery@msn.com
Shooting Star Nursery
© 2007
Frankfort, Kentucky