Prairie Dropseed – A Beginner’s Guide On How To Grow & Care

When it comes to picking ornamental grasses for landscaping, Prairie Dropseed is one of the easiest and best choices you can make. It looks great year round with a really unique form. The overall size is 2-3″ diameter, but it is short in height, with the bulk of the plant being about 12″. It’s versatile in the various growing conditions it can take. And finally, it is used by insects, birds, and other fauna – increasing the ecological value of your garden while improving the appearance.

Prairie Dropseed is a perennial warm season grass native to North America^[1]. Scientifically known as Sporobolus heterolepis, it grows 2-3′ wide by 1-2′ tall in full sun and dry to medium-moist soils^[2]. Often described as handsome, the numerous arching leaves give a radial appearance the blends well as an accent, border, or general ornamental grass.

I have been using this in various locations around my property for several years now and have gotten to know it quite well. I started all my plants from seed, and I must say, of all the native grasses I’ve grown, Prairie Dropseed is the slowest to develop from seed. Even after a year or two in the ground the clumps are fairly small being only 6″ diameter. But no matter – it is a low-growing ornamental grass that is well-behaved. I don’t have to worry about it spreading unless I choose to do so, and it acts as a great natural barrier amongst plants.

In this article:

Native Range

Prairie Dropseed has a primary native range of the Midwest from Eastern Kansas to Illinois, North to Minnesota and Wisconsin. But there is a scattering of populations across numerous ecosystems and regions as far as South Texas, Massachusetts, Wyoming, and Southern Canada.

Reference Table

Scientific Name	Sporobolus heterolepis
Common Name(s)	Dropseed, Prairie Dropseed
Native Range, USDA Zone	Central North America, USDA Hardiness zones 3-9
Bloom Time	August-October
Bloom Duration, Color	12 weeks, white/yellow seedheads
Height	2′
Spacing / Spread	2-3′
Light Requirements	Full sun, part-sun
Soil Types	Sandy loam to clay loam, well-drained
Moisture	Dry to medium-moisture
Fauna Associations / Larval Hosts	Grass hoppers, birds

What is Prairie Dropseed grass good for?

A unique and interesting appearance

A mature Prairie Dropseed plant has long slender blades that arch or curve down to the ground, emanating from a central rootstalk. This does so radially, and really makes and for a unique form/appearance, but in a cool way. I kind of think it resembles a head of hair.

Wildlife

The foliage can be eaten by grasshoppers, although they don’t do that much damage (you’ll probably never notice)^[5]. The seeds are large enough to be eaten by several species of birds. And, in the wild on mature clumps it can provide cover for small rodents^[3].

Year-round interest

The grass is absolutely handsome during the growing season with it’s almost winter-green color. But in fall and winter it still looks cool as it turns to a brown/yellow shade.

Adaptable

This grass is a great choice for a ‘hellstrip’ or hot dry area, as it is a true prairie plant. I also have it growing in part-sun and even a more moist location. In general you can grow this as long as the soil will drain^[6].

Identification and Characteristics

Stalks

There will be a dense central clump where numerous leaves sprout from. Some of these will be flowering shoots while others are plain leaves. The flowering shoots are typically 12-36″ long, while the leaves are 12-24″ long and less than 1/8″ wide.

Flower

The flowering shoots (known as culms) will end in a panicle 4-8″ long by half as wide. These panicles eventually will form seeds that are roughly 1/16″ of an inch. These panicles make it very easy to save seed from the plant.

Root

The root system is fibrous. You can divide mature clumps of Prairie Dropseed in early Spring or Fall. I have a short video on dividing perennial grasses here you may find useful. It covers all the basics, and if you follow those steps you should be successful.

Growing Conditions

Sunlight Requirements

Prairie Dropseed grows best in full sun, but can survive in part-sun. It is not shade tolerant.

Soil Requirements

For soil texture, sandy loam to clay loam or rocky soil is ok, as long as it drains.

Moisture Requirements

Prairie Dropseed likes dry to medium-moist soils and is known for being very drought tolerant. Conversely, it can also grow in more moist regions of the great lakes[4].

When to cut back Prairie Dropseed

In late winter or very early Spring, trim the previous years growth down to a 2″ stubble. If you wait until mid or late Spring to do this, you will likely end up trimming it’s current season growth too, and that can interfere with the overall look of the plant.

Fertilizer

Prairie dropseed does not need fertilizer of any kind. Although a handful of compost can help it get established when transplanting.

How to save Prairie Dropseed seed

To save seed from Prairie Dropseed, simply cut of or rake you hand over the seed heads in late summer. The small ‘balls’ that come off will each contain a tiny seed. Gently rub the ‘balls’ between your hands to have the seed ‘drop’ from the chaff. Below is an image of seed I saved from one of my plants. The tip of a mechanical pencil is in the image to provide scale.

How to Grow Dropseed from Seed

You can definitely grow Prairie Dropseed from seed. But I must warn you, it isn’t as easy to get high germination rates or grow seedlings to successful plants as other native grasses. Of all the native grasses I’ve grown from seed, which is something like 10-15 species, this one is probably the most finicky. The seed companies themselves don’t even agree on the best germination protocol.

Many seed companies who sell the seed have different suggestions as to how to germinate the seed. For instance Prairie Moon suggests that no pretreatment is required, while Everwilde Seed states you should direct sow in fall or very early Spring, which would usually provide some degree of cold stratification. The easiest way to achieve the cold stratification would be to winter sow the seed, although you could use the refrigerator as well.

Now, while the seed is available in bulk from companies like Roundstone, one should know that the Federal Wildlife Service recommends to grow it to a transplantable size in pots, then transplant to a final location. They state direct sowing doesn’t do that well^[3].

What research says

To confuse the situation even more, two recent studies by universities came to different conclusions about the best protocol for Prairie Dropseed, as they each got different results. First, in 2009 researchers from the University of Illinois purchased seed and stored it in sealed containers in the fridge for two months, then attempted to germinate it. They found that germination rates increased from 20% to 50% with 30 days of cold-moist stratification^[7].

Conversely, in 2019 researchers at the University of Minnesota found that storing the seed in cold, dry storage in soil for several months prior to sowing in a seed starting mix, and achieved at germination rate of 59%. And in this same study, seeds that were subjected to cold moist stratification achieved germination rates of 31-36% respectively^[8]. These researchers clearly stated that they did not recommend cold-moist stratification, as that resulted in lower germination rates, and also a lower number of transplantable seedlings.

So what is correct? To stratify or not to stratify?

Well, I can relay my direct experience with growing Prairie Dropseed from seed here, as I’ve done it several times. I’ve never found germination rates to be that high, and therefore recommend you sow more seeds than you want plants. But, I have always grown more than enough plants for what my goals were. Although the seedlings of this plant are notoriously slow to grow and develop as compared to most native grasses that I’ve grown. But, I’ll relay my process below, as it has been successful for me each time.

Winter Sowing Prairie Dropseed

As the above heading suggests, I like to Winter Sow Prairie Dropseed in containers. And to grow Prairie Dropseed from seed, you simply need to plant it in moist soil. The planting depth is from surface to 1/16″ deep.

But basically, around Christmas time I fill a suitable container with moist potting soil and press it firm. Then, scatter the seed on top, pressing it in with my thumb. Finally, I give it a dusting of soil, and then place the container outside in a location where it will get morning sun and afternoon shade.

More challenges to growing Prairie Dropseed from seed

But the thing to know about growing Prairie Dropseed from seed…..it is a slow process. Not that you won’t get germination, you will. But the plants themselves may take a long time to develop. Here are Prairie Dropseed plants I grew from seed – some plants are small, but yet it is obvious that they are far more developed than others. And this is after germinating in March (nearly six months old).

With other grasses you can have large clumps that can even be divided at six months, but not dropseed. One needs patience if you’re going to grow it from seed.

Wildlife, Pests, and Diseases associated with Dropseed

Pollinators

Prairie Dropseed supports pollinators two ways. First, it is foraged by various species of grasshopper[grasshopper]. And second, it was recently it was discovered that Prairie Dropseed hosts a rare leafhopper, Alfexia rubrunura[host].

Deer and Rabbits

Deer and rabbits do not seem to eat Prairie Dropseed. I have not seen damage on any of my plants.

Disease

There really aren’t any diseases that effect Prairie Dropseed. This grass is basically trouble free.

Where you can buy Dropseed

Dropseed is not typically sold in big-box nurseries, as they often don’t carry natives. But it can be purchased at specialty nurseries that deal in Native Plants. You can find native plant nurseries near you on our interactive map. And purchasing Dropseed is probably the best way to get it, as it is quite slow to develop from seed.

Where to buy seeds

We have ordered a variety of native flower seeds from Everwilde Farms, which you can order right from Amazon through our link on our RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS PAGE. (We may earn a small commission when you purchase through our links, at no cost to you. This helps support our website.)

Uses of Prairie Dropseed

This ornamental grass can be used to line pathways, create natural borders between plantings, or as a general ornamental grass. The thing with this grass, it just looks good as a natural ‘barrier’ or divider in a flower bed, or even when planted in isolation.

Companion Plants

For companion plants, I like to grow it among other shorter perennials that like similar growing conditions of full sun and dry to medium soil. So, I have some growing near Rattlesnake Master, Butterfly Weed, and Harebell. I also have it near other short perennial grasses Purple Lovegrass and Side Oats Grama.

Medicinal Uses

The Objiwa Tribe traditionally used Prairie Dropseed as a poultice for treating sores, and as an emetic and liver medicine^[9]. Thankfully modern medicine makes it where we don’t need to try to locate various plants to treat symptoms anymore.

Final Thoughts

This grass is a wonderful addition to any flowerbed or area where you don’t want tall plants to overshadow anything, but want to keep the area filled in and look great. It can also be used for erosion control or a no-mow or no-maintenance area. I really like this grass for how it looks, it’s toughness once established, and for it’s benefit to wildlife. You won’t regret adding it to your garden.

Find more native grasses here