Maritime Bushy Bluestem

Year-round

Maritime bushy bluestem is a warm-season bunchgrass native to wet coastal grasslands and marsh edges from the mid-Atlantic through Florida and along the Gulf Coast into Texas. It forms an upright, fountain-shaped clump and is best suited to a consistently moist to wet, low-lying part of the yard rather than an average dry bed.

• Give it full sun for the fullest, most upright growth habit.
• It needs consistently moist to wet soil and tolerates periodic standing water and some soil salinity, which sets it apart from most upland bunchgrasses.
• Mature size runs roughly 3 to 5 feet tall with the seed heads included.
• It is naturally at home in a wet swale, rain garden low point, or the damp edge of a pond, rather than a typical dry border.

Placed in a defined wet-spot bed with a clean edge, its upright clumping habit reads as an intentional planting instead of an untidy patch of grass.

Fall

Fall is the bloom season for maritime bushy bluestem, which flowers from August through November.

• Watch for the fluffy, silvery-white seed heads opening above the foliage starting in late summer and continuing into fall.
• The clump begins turning a coppery bronze color as the season progresses.
• Seed heads left standing provide food for songbirds through fall.
• Continue keeping the site moist; fall drought is still a risk for this wet-soil species.

Winter

The clump goes dormant for winter, holding its bronze, dried form through the cold months before regrowth in spring.

• Leave the dried foliage and seed heads standing through winter for bird food and visual interest, or cut back in late winter before new growth starts.
• No watering is needed during dormancy beyond normal winter precipitation.
• If cutting back, trim to a few inches above the ground in late winter, before new spring blades emerge.
• The dormant clump is fully cold hardy through typical winters in this region.

Spring

Spring is when this warm-season grass wakes up from winter dormancy and begins putting on new foliage.

• Cut back last year's dried foliage to a few inches before new growth starts, if it was left standing over winter.
• New blue-green blades should emerge once soil temperatures warm up in mid-to-late spring.
• Make sure the planting site stays consistently moist through spring green-up; this species does not tolerate drying out.
• Spring is a good window for planting new nursery-grown starts into a wet or low-lying spot.

Summer

Summer is peak growth for this grass, which fills out into its full upright clump through the warm months.

• Keep the soil consistently moist to wet through summer heat; this species does not perform well if the site dries out for extended periods.
• No fertilizing is typically needed once the clump is established in a suitably wet spot.
• The foliage stays a pale blue-green through summer before the seed heads begin forming toward late summer.
• It can tolerate brief standing water after heavy rain without harm.