Native Grasses for Use in Colorado Landscapes

Introduction

Why use native grasses?

Bunchgrasses can be used ornamentally as specimens or in groups.
Sod forming grasses can make great low maintenance turf and offer savings in mowing, fertilizing, and irrigation.
Grasses provide excellent forage and cover for birds and beneficial insects.

Seasons: Cool season grasses green up earlier in the spring and can go dormant and turn brown in the heat. Warm season grasses stay dormant longer in the spring and grow during the warmer season.

Grasses prefer full sun unless stated otherwise in the notes section.

Scientific Name	Common Name	Season	Height	Planting Elevation	Notes
Achnatherum hymenoides (Oryzopsis hymenoides)	Indian rice grass	Cool	12-24”	To 9,000’	Delicate, lacy bunchgrass with attractive showy panicles. Very low water use. Short lived. Edible seeds. Most well-drained soils.
Andropogon gerardii	Big bluestem	Warm	48-72”	To 7,500’	Robust bunchgrass with upright growth. Turns red burgundy in the fall with color retention well into winter. Tolerates most soils (especially clay) and water regimes.
Andropogon saccharoides	Silver beard grass	Warm	24-48”	To 7,500’	Bunchgrass with fine textured leaves and large seed heads which catch the light and persist through the winter. Orange fall color. Grows in all soils, including clay. Low water use.
Bouteloua curtipendula	Sideoats grama	Warm	24-36”	To 9,000’	Bunchgrass with small pennant-like seeds on one side of stem. Very low water use. Most well-drained soils.
Bouteloua gracilis	Blue grama, eyelash grass	Warm	6-20”	To 9,500’	Bunchgrass with large, curved flowering spikes that resemble eyelashes. Excellent lawn alternative can be left unmown. Withstands moderate traffic and light shade. Low water use.

Buchloe dactyloides	Buffalo grass	Warm	2-8”	To 6,500’	Sod-forming grass, moderate to low water use. Excellent lawn alternative. Long-lived with a vigorous root system. Prefers clay soils.
Eragrostis trichodes	Sand lovegrass	Warm	24-48”	To 6,500’	Bunchgrass with a lacy, airy inflorescence. Does especially well on sandy soils but tolerates most. Low water use.
Festuca arizonica	Arizona fescue	Cool	10-24”	To 10,000’ or higher	Graceful clumping bunchgrass with fine-textured blue-green leaves. Low water use. Tolerates light shade but not traffic.
Koeleria macrantha	June grass	Cool	12-24”	To 11,000’	Bunchgrass with attractive open panicles of flowers. Great mixed with low-growing perennials. Low water use but will tolerate wetter sites. Most soils and light shade.
Pascopyrum smithii (Agropyron smithii)	Western wheatgrass	Cool	12-40”	To 10,500’	Sod-forming grass with upright blue leaves and spikes. Most soils. Because it is strongly rhizomatous, it should be used only where there is adequate growing space.
Panicum virgatum	Switchgrass	Warm	36-48”	To 7,000’ (maybe higher)	Slow sod-former with upright growth, vase shaped. Many delicate panicles, high above the foliage in some strains, turn reddish bronze in the autumn. Often used at the back of the perennial border or as a tall screen.
Schizachyrium scoparium (Andropogon scoparius)	Little bluestem	Warm	12-48”	To 7,500’ or higher	Upright growing bunchgrass with green to blue-green leaves and fluffy seed heads that catch the light, persisting through winter. Fall color is a red to bronze, which fades slowly in winter. Sun. Good for clay soils but tolerates most. Low to moderate water use.
Sporobolus airoides	Alkali sacaton	Warm	36-60”	To 7,500’	Striking robust grass with fine textured bluish leaves and a showy, airy, open inflorescence. Low water use tolerates most soils. Easy to establish.
Sorghastrum nutans	Indian grass	Warm	36-60”	To 6,500’	One of the most ornamental of the native grasses. Upright growth with large tawny seed heads and golden-orange fall color. Moderate water use. Needs space to grow.

This publication, reference GardenNotes #581, is developed as part of the Colorado State University Extension Master Gardener Program.