Sideoats Grama
Bouteloua curtipendula
Fine-textured native grass weaving the planting together, for sand, clay, rocky, and loam ground.
- Full sun
- Dry
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Montana · Zones 3–5
Native Ornamental Grasses in Montana
Native grasses and sedges that bring movement, winter structure, and bird seed — the matrix that ties a planting together. Montana sits in a landscape of Northern Rockies & Great Plains steppe, and the natives that thrive here are the ones built for its cold, semi-arid character. The list below — led by Sideoats Grama and Blue Grama — is filtered to species genuinely native to Montana and the wider flora of the Mountain West and hardy through zones 3–5. Native grasses are the connective tissue of a natural planting, weaving between the flowers, holding the soil, and standing handsome through the whole winter. Warm-season grasses want full sun and lean soil and green up late, so don't give up on them in May. Cut everything back to a hand's height in late winter, just before new growth, and that's the entire job.
The plants
7 native species for Montana
Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 3–5 · see this collection in other states.
Blue Grama
Bouteloua gracilis
A grass for movement and bird seed, happy in sand, clay, rocky, and loam soil.
- Full sun
- Dry
- 8–20 in
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Big Bluestem
Andropogon gerardii
A grass for structure and bird seed, turning bronze-purple seed heads and standing 4–7 ft tall through the cold.
- Full sun
- Dry to wet
- 4–7 ft
- Fall color
Switchgrass
Panicum virgatum
Summer texture, airy pink-gold panicles autumn color, and winter standing presence on a 3–6 ft-tall native grass.
- Full–part sun
- Dry to wet
- 3–6 ft
- Fall color
Indian Grass
Sorghastrum nutans
A grass for structure and bird seed, turning bronze-gold plumes and standing 4–7 ft tall through the cold.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 4–7 ft
- Fall color
Prairie Dropseed
Sporobolus heterolepis
Turns fine emerald to amber as the season ends and holds that form till spring cleanup, for sand, rocky, and loam ground.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 2–3 ft
- Fall color
Little Bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium
Summer texture, blue-green to copper autumn color, and winter standing presence on a 2–4 ft-tall native grass.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Fall color
Sourcing
Where to find these in Montana
Seeds & live plants on Amazon
Seed packets, plugs, and starter plants for many of these species ship to your door.
Browse on AmazonSome links here are affiliate links — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The surest source of locally-adapted stock is a native-plant nursery or a native plant society sale in your area.