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Field guide
Blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis)
Public domain

also Eyelash grass

Blue grama

Bouteloua gracilis

Family:
Poaceae
Elevation:
3,500 ft – 8,000 ft
Bloom:
Jul – Sep
Region:
Southwest

New Mexico's state grass — a fine-textured warm-season bunchgrass whose seed heads hang sideways like little combs or eyelashes. The backbone of native shortgrass and a superb low-water lawn alternative.

Care · tuned to the Southwest

Water

Deeply drought tolerant; greens up with monsoon rain. As an unmowed meadow it needs almost no supplemental water; as a mown lawn, occasional deep soaks in peak summer.

Sun & exposure

Full sun.

Soil

Well-drained, alkaline; tolerates lean soil and gentle foot traffic.

In the Southwest

Warm-season, so it stays tan/dormant until soil warms in late spring — don't mistake winter dormancy for death. Can be left unmown as a soft meadow or cut a few times a season. Establishes best from seed sown into warm soil before the monsoon.

Common problems & fixes

  • Tan dormant color mistaken for dead — a warm-season grass that browns in cool weather

    Fix — Leave it be; it greens up in late spring, so delay any cutback until then.

  • Thins or lodges with too much water and fertility, letting weeds in

    Fix — Grow it lean and dry, plant densely, and spot-weed in late winter before it breaks dormancy.

Pets & toxicity

Non-toxic.

Easy to confuse with

  • Sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula) — seed spikes along one side of the stem
  • Buffalograss (Bouteloua dactyloides) — stoloniferous, forms a sod

Sources

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