{"product_id":"blue-grama","title":"Blue Grama","description":"\u003ch3 class=\"pd-title-head\"\u003e\n  \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ci\u003eBouteloua gracilis\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eOverview\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUses:\u003c\/strong\u003e Dry sunny borders, prairie and meadow plantings, rock and gravel gardens, low-water plantings, mass planting on lean soil.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBenefits:\u003c\/strong\u003e The seed heads hang horizontally off one side of the stem like small combs or eyelashes, held well clear of the foliage where they catch low light. Deep roots make it genuinely reliable on thin, dry, alkaline ground, and the whole plant stays low enough to use in places where taller prairie grasses would take over.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUSDA Hardiness Zones:\u003c\/strong\u003e 3–9\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSun:\u003c\/strong\u003e Full Sun\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLife Cycle:\u003c\/strong\u003e Hardy Perennial\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrowth Habit:\u003c\/strong\u003e Clumping, Mounding — dense low tuft with flower stems held above\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBloom Color:\u003c\/strong\u003e Purple\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFoliage Color:\u003c\/strong\u003e Blue-Green, turning Gold in fall\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMature Height:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1–2 ft.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMature Width:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1–1.5 ft.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBloom Season:\u003c\/strong\u003e Midsummer through fall\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrowth Rate:\u003c\/strong\u003e Moderate\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eSummary\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBlue Grama is the shortgrass prairie in miniature — a neat blue-green hummock no wider than a dinner plate, sending up wiry stems in midsummer that end in seed heads angled out sideways like little combs. Nothing else hardy to Zone 3 does that, and once you have seen a drift of them backlit at the end of the day the effect is hard to give up.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe foliage is fine-textured and distinctly blue-cast through the growing season, shifting to warm gold as nights cool and holding that color into winter. Flower stems rise eight to twelve inches above the leaves and the seed heads persist well past frost, so the plant reads as furnished rather than bare through the cold months. It never gets tall enough to flop.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhat makes it useful is the root system. Blue Grama roots deeply and quickly and asks for very little once settled, which suits gravel gardens, hell strips, and any sunny spot with thin soil and no irrigation. It resents rich, wet, heavily amended ground more than it resents neglect.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eCare\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBlue Grama Care\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePlant Blue Grama in full sun in well-drained soil. It performs best on lean, dry, sandy or gravelly ground and tolerates alkaline conditions readily. Heavy clay that stays wet in winter is the one situation to avoid — raise the bed or amend for drainage rather than planting into a low spot.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWater regularly through the first season to establish the root system. After that it needs almost nothing; in most summers rainfall alone carries it. Overwatering produces floppy growth and shortens the plant's life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSkip fertilizer entirely on average or lean soil. If growth is genuinely weak on very poor ground, a light spring application of \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/almanacplanting.com\/products\/slow-release-fertilizer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eslow release fertilizer\u003c\/a\u003e is enough. Rich feeding pushes soft growth that lodges.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLeave the foliage and seed heads standing through winter for structure and bird seed, then cut back to a few inches in late winter before new growth begins. Divide only if a clump dies out in the center, which is uncommon.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eSize\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat Size is the Blue Grama for Sale Online?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOur Blue Grama ships in a greenhouse-grade grow pot and is appropriately sized for its container at the time of shipment. If you have specific sizing or planting questions, please \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/almanacplanting.com\/pages\/contact\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Contact Almanac Planting Co\"\u003econtact us\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow Large Does Blue Grama Grow?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBlue Grama typically grows one to two feet tall in flower and about a foot to eighteen inches wide, with the leaf mound itself staying under a foot. Clumps reach full size in two to three seasons and stay put after that.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eAdditional Information\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy is it called Blue Grama?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe foliage carries a distinct blue-gray cast through the growing season, which separates it from the green shortgrasses it grows alongside. Grama comes from the Spanish word for grass, applied to this genus across the Southwest.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCan Blue Grama be used as a lawn substitute?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn dry, sunny regions it works well as a low-input meadow lawn, usually mixed with buffalo grass and mown high a few times a season. In humid eastern gardens it is better used as an ornamental clump or in drifts than as turf, since it does not knit tightly in high rainfall.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIs it deer resistant?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eYes. Deer and rabbits both leave it alone in ornamental plantings, which makes it a dependable choice in unfenced beds. See more options in our \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/almanacplanting.com\/collections\/deer-resistant-perennials-grasses\"\u003eDeer-Resistant Perennials and Grasses\u003c\/a\u003e collection.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow drought tolerant is it once established?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eVery. It evolved on the western plains and roots deeply enough to go weeks without water in average summers. It belongs with the toughest plants we sell — browse the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/almanacplanting.com\/collections\/drought-tolerant-plants\"\u003eDrought-Tolerant Plants\u003c\/a\u003e collection for companions that ask for the same conditions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIs Blue Grama native?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eYes, it is a straight species native across the Great Plains and much of western North America, and a dominant component of shortgrass prairie. More options in our \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/almanacplanting.com\/collections\/native-plants\"\u003eNative Plants of North America\u003c\/a\u003e collection.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Almanac Planting Co","offers":[{"title":"2 Gallon \/ Fall '26 Pre-Order","offer_id":47505002561698,"sku":"PN-BlGr-2-1yr","price":44.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0586\/9374\/6850\/files\/BlueGrama3.jpg?v=1786301157","url":"https:\/\/almanacplanting.com\/products\/blue-grama","provider":"Almanac Planting Co","version":"1.0","type":"link"}