{"id":22190,"date":"2023-06-14T08:46:34","date_gmt":"2023-06-14T12:46:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/?p=22190"},"modified":"2023-06-14T08:46:34","modified_gmt":"2023-06-14T12:46:34","slug":"how-do-you-grow-big-bluestem-in-a-container","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2023\/06\/14\/how-do-you-grow-big-bluestem-in-a-container\/","title":{"rendered":"How do you grow Big Bluestem in a container?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Question:<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Can Big Bluestem be grown in a 5 X 2.5 foot deep container or another size container? How many plants per container and what should the size be? I am looking to do this so the plants are not in the ground and become too invasive yet I want it for screening a neighbor.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>Answer:<\/h3>\n<div><em>Lynne M. Holland, Horticulture and Social Media Professional<\/em><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/topic-areas\/yard-garden\/ornamental-grasses-7-232\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/topic-areas\/yard-garden\/ornamental-grasses-7-232\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1686832179819000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2r_3FOqM5aWBHDoCRdsfVU\">Big Bluestem<\/a>\u00a0(<em>Andropogon gerardii)<\/em>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000\">will eventually fill any size container you put it in and 2.5 feet deep is a good start.\u00a0 How many and how far apart depends on how quickly you want this privacy barrier to reach maturity.\u00a0 Planting should be done by mid-June for it to become established this year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In general, Bluestem is seen as a forage\/field grass and is seed planted.\u00a0 It would be best to use a named variety for container planting so that the mature height and spread can be considered.\u00a0 Various varieties are anywhere\u00a0from 3-7 feet tall and spread 1-4 feet.\u00a0 Follow the directions for that variety as far as spacing is concerned.\u00a0 If you plant more intensely it will fill in sooner but you will\u00a0also have to split it sooner as well. In general, 2-3 per container, if you are starting with small plants (under 1-gallon pot) should work.<\/p>\n<div class=\"gmail_default\"><span style=\"color: #000000\">Most of the named varieties are also Zone 4 hardy (versus Zone 3 for the species).\u00a0 You will have to protect the container from drying winds and cold in the winter since the root ball is above ground (moving them to a sheltered place for the winter will help of insulating them by surrounding them with bags of leaves).<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Question: Can Big Bluestem be grown in a 5 X 2.5 foot deep container or another size container? How many plants per container and what should the size be? I am looking to do this so the plants are not in the ground and become too invasive yet I want it for screening a neighbor.\u00a0 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[199],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ask"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How do you grow Big Bluestem in a container? - Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard - University of Maine Cooperative Extension<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2023\/06\/14\/how-do-you-grow-big-bluestem-in-a-container\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How do you grow Big Bluestem in a container? - Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard - University of Maine Cooperative Extension\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Question: Can Big Bluestem be grown in a 5 X 2.5 foot deep container or another size container? 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