Is Big Bluestem deer resistant?
Andropogon sp.
About Big Bluestem
Tall native prairie grass that turns bronze and copper in autumn and stands through snow. Deer ignore it completely. It reaches six feet or more, which regularly catches people out in a border. 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 autumn. 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.
- Blue FescueFestuca glaucaZones 4–8Rarely damaged
- Blue Oat GrassHelictotrichon sempervirensZones 4–8Rarely damaged
- Clump BambooFargesia sp.Zones 5–9, genus rangeRarely damaged
- Feather Reed GrassCalamagrostis sp.Zones 4–9, genus rangeRarely damaged
- Fountain GrassPennisetum alopecuroidesZones 6–9Rarely damaged
- Giant Japanese Silver GrassMiscanthus floridulusZones 5–9Rarely damaged
Where Big Bluestem grows
Hardy across most of these 51 states on zone range alone. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering.
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- New York
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts
- Virginia
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Wisconsin
- Ohio
- Indiana
- Illinois
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Georgia
- Texas
- Colorado
- California
- Oregon
- Washington
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Maine
- Rhode Island
- Delaware
- West Virginia
- Kentucky
- South Carolina
- Florida
- Alabama
- Mississippi
- Louisiana
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- Iowa
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Idaho
- Utah
- Nevada
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- Alaska
- District of Columbia
- Hawaii
Browse from here
Every list Big Bluestem belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Big Bluestem
- Is Big Bluestem deer resistant?
- Big Bluestem (Andropogon sp.) is rated Rarely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. 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.