Prairie Dropseed ‘Tara’
* Common name: Prairie dropseed ‘Tara’
Prairie dropseed’s fall color.
* Botanical name: Sporobolus heterolepis ‘Tara’
* What it is: ‘Tara’ is a compact form of our native prairie dropseed, a cold-hardy and perennial ornamental grass. But what really makes it stand out is when its narrow, arching green blades turn a brilliant red-orange color in fall.
‘Tara’ grows about a foot shorter than the straight species (topping out at about two feet) but has the same pinkish-tan wispy seedheads from late summer on that birds love.
Plants are sun-loving, drought-tough, and like most ornamental grasses, not a favorite of deer.
* Size: The arching, spray-form foliage mounds grow about a foot tall and take two or three years to hit full stride. The seed stems then poke up another foot. Space two-and-a-half feet apart.
* Where to use: Prairie dropseed’s home in nature is open meadows, so any similar, sunny spot in the yard is fair game.
‘Tara’s’ compact habit makes it a good choice for adding texture to a perennial garden, lining a sunny border or walkway, or even massing on a sunny bank. It also makes a good sunny groundcover or lawn alternative for low-traffic areas.
* Care: Water regularly the first year or two until the roots establish, then water usually is not needed. Fertilizer also is usually not necessary.
Cut plants to a stub in March before new growth begins. Let the frost-killed foliage stand in fall and over winter for textural interest and for feeding birds and giving them nest-building material.
Division usually not needed, but clumps can be dug and divided at winter’s end if the centers are dying out or you’d like to move divided pieces elsewhere.
* Great partner: Red or golden mums, goldenrod, sneezeweed, perennial sunflowers, and false sunflowers are especially good, brightly colored, late-season, perennial bloomers that pair nicely with ‘Tara’s’ fall red-orange foliage.
Interplant dropseed clumps with spring bulbs such as daffodils or summer snowflakes to give early-spring color to the bed while the grasses are just waking up from winter dormancy.