Perennial Plant of the Year 2022
Schizachyrium scoparium
Little Bluestem Grass
“Twilight Zone”
Every year the Perennial Plant Association sends each member a ballot to select a Perennial Plant of The Year. These plants tend not to be new introductions to the garden world, but plants that have been tested and thus proven worthy for nomination. They need to be suitable for a wide range of climatic zones. The plant chosen must be low maintenance, relatively pest free, and disease resistant. It must have multiple seasons of ornamental interest and be readily available for the year of promotion. After the selection the plant is promoted all across Canada and continental U.S.A.
“And who is the Perennial Plant Association,” you might ask? Mostly, it is a large group of greenhouse growers, retailers, landscapers, horticultural teachers, and “plant geeks” that work in our huge industry. The membership is large, and people join from all around the world and meet once a year at an annual convention. Here, we listen to speakers, tour greenhouses and nurseries, have a trade show, and in general, find out what the others in the industry are up to.
It began in 1990, when the first Plant of the Year was Phlox stolonifera. Next was Heuchera micrantha “Palace Purple” and from that time on each year another perennial was picked and promoted.
Most of the time the plants selected by the Perennial Plant Association are very hardy. With the exception of a very few plants that are not hardy at all, Vale's Greenhouse has always been very pleased with the choices for Perennial Plant of the Year, for the 2022 gardening season Little Bluestem Grass “Twilight Zone” has beenchosen. It’s suitable to a wide range of climates because it grows from Canada to Mexico. It is a low-Maintenance, drought-tolerant plant that grows even in poor soil.
Little bluestem “Twilight Zone” (Schizachyrium scoparium) is one of the dominant grasses in the tallgrass prairie region, because each leaf has a tinge of blue at its base, is how it got its name. The foliage is fine-textured and forms dense, upright mounds. This is a warm-season grass that is adapted to hot, dry weather, it requires a full sun location to grow in and grows mostly from June through September. So here in Southern Alberta it really starts to grow once the soil gets warm, unlike cool-season grasses that start growing early in the spring, this hardy grass will spring to life in late May early June and become quite a showstopper.
Small purplish-bronze flowers appear in August on branched stems that stand above the foliage. The flowers are followed by attractive clusters of fluffy, silver-white seed heads that often persist into winter. The foliage turns a beautiful bronze-orange in the fall.
It’s tough, adaptable and drought tolerant. Looks best when cut back in late winter or early spring, allowing new leaf blades to fill in. It’s really an easy-care plant! Doesn’t flop over and is deer resistant there are not a lot of plants that can do it all in a sunny garden like this very special grass. We are confident that once you plant Little Blue Stem in your garden you will be wondering how come you did not plant it sooner.