My Deer Garden

Plant record · Ornamental grass

Is Big Bluestem deer resistant?

Andropogon sp.

Tall big bluestem prairie grass
Photo by Matt Lavin, CC BY-SA 2.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.
Damage step 1 of 4 · Rarely Damaged

Yes. Deer almost always leave this alone.

Type
Ornamental grass
Hardiness
Zones 3–9, genus range
Light
Full sun
Maintenance
Low

Damage steps follow a published university field scale. How plants are rated.

About Big Bluestem

Tall native prairie grass that turns bronze and copper in fall and stands through snow. Deer ignore it completely.

It reaches six feet or more, which regularly catches people out in a bed. This is a plant for the back, for a screen, or for a meadow planting, not for the middle of a bed.

It is slow to start. Big bluestem is a warm-season grass, so it sits doing nothing until early summer while cool-season grasses are already up, then grows fast. Do not judge it in May.

Cut it down in late winter, not fall. The winter structure is most of the reason to grow it, and the standing stems shelter overwintering insects.

Soil and care

Soil pH
5.5 to 7.5
Drainage
Average garden soil
Water
Low
Spacing
24 to 35 in apart
Growth rate
Fast
Maintenance
Low

Similar to Big Bluestem

Other ornamental grasss with the same deer rating.

Where Big Bluestem grows

Hardy across every state on zone range alone. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering. Select any state, including one it will not grow in, for what is resistant there.

Alabama — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Alaska — hardy here. Zones 1 to 8.Arizona — hardy here. Zones 5 to 10.Arkansas — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.California — hardy here. Zones 7 to 10.Colorado — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Connecticut — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Delaware — hardy here. Zones 7 to 7.District of Columbia — hardy here. Zones 7 to 8.Florida — hardy here. Zones 8 to 11.Georgia — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Hawaii — hardy here. Zones 9 to 12.Idaho — hardy here. Zones 3 to 7.Illinois — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Indiana — hardy here. Zones 5 to 6.Iowa — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Kansas — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Kentucky — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.Louisiana — hardy here. Zones 8 to 10.Maine — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Maryland — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Massachusetts — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Michigan — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Minnesota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Mississippi — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Missouri — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Montana — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Nebraska — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Nevada — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.New Hampshire — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.New Jersey — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.New Mexico — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.New York — hardy here. Zones 4 to 7.North Carolina — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.North Dakota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 4.Ohio — hardy here. Zones 5 to 6.Oklahoma — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Oregon — hardy here. Zones 6 to 9.Pennsylvania — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Rhode Island — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.South Carolina — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.South Dakota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Tennessee — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Texas — hardy here. Zones 6 to 9.Utah — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.Vermont — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Virginia — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Washington — hardy here. Zones 5 to 8.West Virginia — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Wisconsin — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Wyoming — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.
Hardy on zone rangeNot hardy — still linked
Choose a state from the listeasier on a phone

Common questions about Big Bluestem

Is Big Bluestem deer resistant?
Big Bluestem (Andropogon sp.) is rated Rarely Damaged, step 1 of 4 on the damage scale this site uses. Deer almost always leave this alone.
What hardiness zones does Big Bluestem grow in?
Big Bluestem is hardy in USDA zones 3 to 9. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat. That is the range across the genus, so a named species or cultivar may be narrower.
Does Big Bluestem grow in shade?
No. Big Bluestem wants full sun and will grow thin and flop in shade.

Browse from here

Every list Big Bluestem belongs to.

All ornamental grasss·Rarely damaged·Full sun plants

Hardy in these zones

Zone 3·Zone 4·Zone 5·Zone 6·Zone 7·Zone 8·Zone 9

Damage ratings follow the four-step field scale published by Rutgers University. Growing data is compiled from state extension sources and still being verified record by record. Last reviewed .