Purple Lovegrass: A Delicate Native Beauty for Your Garden
If you’re looking for a graceful native grass that brings ethereal beauty to your landscape without demanding much attention, purple lovegrass (Eragrostis spectabilis) might just be the perfect addition to your garden. This charming perennial grass creates clouds of delicate, purplish-pink blooms that dance in the breeze, earning it a special place in the hearts of native plant enthusiasts.
What is Purple Lovegrass?
Purple lovegrass is a native perennial grass that belongs to the Poaceae family. Despite its common name, this isn’t actually related to true lovegrasses in the traditional sense, but rather gets its name from the lovely, airy appearance of its seed heads. The plant has also been known by the synonyms Poa spectabilis and Eragrostis spectabilis var. sparsihirsuta, though these names are less commonly used today.
Where Does It Call Home?
This adaptable grass is native throughout most of the United States, thriving from coast to coast. You’ll find it naturally growing in an impressive range of states including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. It has also been introduced to parts of Canada, including Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec, where it has naturalized successfully.
Why Gardeners Love (and Sometimes Question) Purple Lovegrass
The Appeal:
- Stunning visual impact with its cloud-like, purplish-pink seed heads that appear in late summer
- Extremely drought-tolerant once established
- Low maintenance and low fertility requirements
- Adds wonderful texture and movement to garden designs
- Supports wildlife, particularly providing seeds for birds
- Native status makes it an eco-friendly choice for most US gardens
Things to Consider:
- Can self-seed readily, which some gardeners find overly enthusiastic
- Relatively short-lived for a perennial (moderate lifespan)
- Limited wildlife value compared to some other native grasses
- Goes dormant in winter, losing its visual appeal seasonally
Garden Design and Landscape Uses
Purple lovegrass shines in naturalized landscapes, prairie gardens, and drought-tolerant garden designs. Its fine texture and moderate height (growing to about 0.9 feet tall) make it an excellent accent plant that won’t overwhelm other garden features. The grass works beautifully in:
- Native plant gardens
- Prairie restorations
- Rock gardens
- Naturalized meadow areas
- Borders and edges where its delicate texture can be appreciated
Its rhizomatous growth habit means it will slowly spread to form colonies, making it useful for erosion control on slopes or filling in naturalized areas.
Growing Conditions and Care
One of purple lovegrass’s greatest strengths is its adaptability and low-maintenance nature. Here’s what this grass prefers:
Soil Requirements:
- Thrives in coarse to medium-textured soils
- Avoid heavy, fine-textured soils
- pH range of 4.0 to 7.5 (quite adaptable!)
- Low fertility requirements – actually prefers lean soils
Water and Climate Needs:
- Highly drought-tolerant once established
- Low moisture requirements (10-60 inches annual precipitation)
- Hardy in USDA zones 4-9 (tolerates temperatures down to -43°F)
- Requires at least 100 frost-free days
- Intolerant of shade – needs full sun location
Wetland Status: Purple lovegrass is classified as Obligate Upland in most regions, meaning it almost never occurs in wetlands. The one exception is the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, where it’s Facultative Upland, occasionally found in wetland edges but primarily in upland sites.
Planting and Propagation
Getting started with purple lovegrass is refreshingly straightforward:
- From Seed: The primary propagation method, with seeds available through specialized native plant suppliers
- Seeding Rate: Use 10,912 to 43,560 plants per acre for large-scale plantings
- Seed Characteristics: Approximately 1,059,100 seeds per pound – tiny but mighty!
- Germination: No cold stratification required, though seedlings show high vigor once established
- Timing: Spring planting works best to align with the plant’s active growth period
The plant blooms in spring and produces abundant seeds from summer through fall. While seed spread is relatively slow, the plant’s moderate vegetative spread rate means established clumps will gradually expand.
Wildlife and Ecological Benefits
While purple lovegrass isn’t the most wildlife-friendly native grass available, it does offer some ecological benefits. According to research, terrestrial birds use it for 2-5% of their diet and occasionally for sparse cover. The abundant seed production in late summer and fall provides food for small birds and other seed-eating wildlife.
For gardeners specifically interested in maximizing wildlife benefits, you might consider pairing purple lovegrass with other native grasses like little bluestem or buffalo grass, which offer greater wildlife value while complementing purple lovegrass’s aesthetic appeal.
The Bottom Line
Purple lovegrass offers a wonderful combination of low-maintenance care, drought tolerance, and ethereal beauty that can enhance many garden designs. Its native status throughout most of the US makes it an environmentally responsible choice, while its adaptability to various soil conditions and climates makes it accessible to gardeners in diverse regions.
Just keep in mind its tendency to self-seed if you prefer more controlled garden designs, and consider it as part of a diverse native plant palette rather than a single-species solution. For gardeners embracing naturalized landscapes or prairie-style gardens, purple lovegrass can be a delightful addition that brings movement, texture, and seasonal interest to the landscape.
