Schizachyrium scoparium Free Spirit Comet
Also known as Little Bluestem Grass, schizachyrium is an excellent choice for native gardeners looking to bring texture, sound, and color to the yard. Free Spirit® Comet® stands out from the crowded field of little bluestem cultivars for its uniquely narrow, strictly upright habit, holding a tight clump of finely textured, sky-blue foliage that shrugs off wind and rain without flopping. Starting in late summer, the color show begins from the base of the plant, with ruby-red and purple tones creeping upward through the blue foliage — the effect gives the clump a streaked, two-toned look, with the still-blue tips resembling the tail of a comet, which is exactly where the name comes from. It's a compact grower for a little bluestem, reaching 3 to 3.5 feet tall but only 18 to 24 inches wide, and its tight, columnar form makes it a natural fit for dwarf hedging or as a repeated architectural accent, roles most little bluestems are too loose and sprawling to fill. This is an easygoing, low-maintenance native grass suited to zones 4 through 9, thriving in full sun and lean, well-drained soil, and it's genuinely drought and salt tolerant once established — supplemental water is rarely needed outside of establishment or the hottest stretches of summer. It asks for very little fertilizer, just a light topdressing of compost in spring or fall, and stands up through winter for structural interest before it should be cut back to the ground in early spring ahead of new growth. Deer tend to leave it alone, and its clumping habit means it won't run or self-sow aggressively into unwanted areas. Comet® is a Hortech Inc. original, part of the company's Free Spirit® series of little bluestem selections bred by Dave MacKenzie in Michigan, and it carries the cultivar code 'Nontemoc.' Hortech built the Free Spirit line by trialing dozens of little bluestem seedlings, and Comet's narrow, upright form was distinctive enough to set it apart even among that large field of candidates — the trait that gives the cultivar its name and its niche as an accent or hedging plant rather than just another naturalizing grass. It's a nativar of Schizachyrium scoparium, a species so widely valued for its adaptability and fall color that it was named the Perennial Plant Association's Perennial Plant of the Year in 2022, and Comet channels that same tough, low-input constitution into a tidier, more architectural package.