Indiangrass

Sorghastrum nutans

Hills guide picknative · Hill Country

Indiangrass is a grass native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 3–5 ft tall and 5 ft wide. It wants full sun and medium to high water, and handles caliche and clay soil. Blooms yellow in late spring. Good for butterflies.

Will it grow in your yard?

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From our guide

Village of the Hills

Tall upright bunchgrass with blue-green blades and golden bronze plumes in fall.

Why it works here

A tallgrass prairie signature — the fall plumes catch low light and hold through winter.

Watch out

Gets tall and can lean after rain. Cut back in late winter before new growth.

The facts

8 sources

Type: Grass
Sun: Full sun (6+ hrs)
Water: Medium to high
Height: 3–5 ft
Spread: 5 ft
Bloom: Late Spring · yellow
Foliage: Deciduous
Soil: Takes caliche and clay · recorded on clay, dry, limestone, loam, moist, poor drainage, sand
Deer: Moderate — deer may browse it, especially new growth. Grazed when green in spring; mature clumps are safe.
Wildlife: Supports butterflies

Size, sun, water and foliage from the Village of the Hills guide; the rest resolved across sources.

Where it grows

Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Balcones CanyonlandsLlano UpliftEdwards Plateau WoodlandNorthern Blackland PrairieSouthern Post Oak SavannaFloodplains and Low TerracesLimestone Cut PlainSan Antonio Prairie

972 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

In the Village of the Hills guide, but not on the grower stock lists we read yet. Ask a native-plant nursery.

also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.