Schizachyrium 'Little Red Fox'

Schizachyrium 'Little Red Fox': Little Bluestem That Blazes Red Come Fall

'Little Red Fox' is sly. All summer it plays innocent in blue-green, then fall hits and it slips into something red and purple. NOBODY SAW THE COSTUME CHANGE COMING.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Schizachyrium scoparium 'Little Red Fox'
• Common Name: Little Bluestem
• Height: 60–75 cm (24–30 in)
• Spread: 45–60 cm (18–24 in)
• Flowers: Fine flower spikes that become fluffy, silvery seed heads
• Bloom Time: Late summer into early fall (August to September)
• Foliage: Blue-green in spring, with red highlights by midsummer, turning red and purple in fall
• Features: Compact upright habit, tolerates clay, salt tolerant, tolerates black walnut, winter interest

Where to Plant: Its smaller size suits the front or middle of a border, small gardens, rock gardens and containers, and it can be massed for a sweep of fall colour. It's handy on slopes and green roofs, and it tolerates clay, road salt and black walnut. Leave the stems standing so birds have shelter and seed through winter.

Companion Plants: Give 'Little Red Fox' a sunny, dry bed with silver mounds, white ice plant and rattlesnake master. Delosperma 'Jewel of Desert Moon Stone' carpets the front at 10 to 15 cm with white flowers from May to September. Artemisia 'Silver Mound' adds soft silver mounds at 25 to 30 cm. Echinacea Kismet® 'Red' brings red coneflowers at 45 cm from June to October. Eryngium yuccifolium adds greenish-white globes at 90 to 150 cm from July to September.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun and average, sandy or rocky soil with good drainage. It does best in lean conditions. Skip the fertilizer and don't overwater, or the stems can lean. Water deeply through the first season, then only during long dry spells. As a warm-season grass, it greens up late in spring. Leave it standing for winter, then cut it back to about 10 cm (4 in) in late winter or early spring. Divide in spring if it thins in the centre after a few years.

History: 'Little Red Fox' was bred by Brent Horvath of Intrinsic Perennial Gardens in Hebron, Illinois, from a 2019 seedling of an open-pollinated little bluestem. It is more compact than older selections like 'Prairie Blues'.

Final Thoughts: It tolerates clay, salt and even a black walnut next door, and it's compact enough for the smallest yard. OUTFOX THE NEIGHBOURS. PLANT THREE.