‘Blackhawks’ Big Bluestem Earns Perennial Plant of the Year for 2026
‘Blackhawks’ big bluestem is a tall, narrow ornamental grass that turns deep purple in fall. This drought-tolerant native plant is a multi award winner.
'Blackhawks' big bluestem has been named Perennial Plant of the Year for 2026 by the Perennial Plant Association. This ornamental grass boasts colorful foliage, a strong vertical habit and excellent drought tolerance. A cultivar of a species native to North America's tall grass prairies, 'Blackhawks' is a handsome choice for naturalistic and ecological gardens. Its species, Andropogon gerardii, is known to provide shelter and seeds to a number of sparrows and other songbirds and to host the larvae of a few butterfly species. A multi award winner, 'Blackhawks' big bluestem was named Grass of the Year in 2024 by GreatPlants, a program that singles out excellent choices for gardens and landscapes in the Great Plains.
Common name: 'Blackhawks' big bluestem
Botanical name: Andropogon gerardii 'Blackhawks'
Origin: The species Andropogon gerardii is native across the eastern two-thirds of North America, roughly. It grows in meadows, prairies and moist grasslands. The cultivar 'Blackhawks' was selected by plant breeder Brent Horvath, founder of Intrinsic Perennial Gardens. The original seedling appeared from seed of the cultivar 'Red October' (also an Intrinsic introduction). The differences between these two cultivars are size and color; 'Blackhawks' stays about a foot shorter than 'Red October' and develops purple to black tones in the later part of the growing season, while 'Red October' turns shades of red.
Related: Check out Rudbeckia 'American Gold Rush', Brent Horvath's black-eyed Susan that won Perennial Plant of the Year in 2023.
Flowers: Spiky, feathery inflorescences appear amid and above the foliage in midsummer.
Foliage: Growth begins dark green in spring and early summer. In late summer, the grassy leaves turn deep purple, with the color shifting first at their tips and then spreading downward. In early fall the plan turns from dark purple to nearly black.
Size and habit: This grass grows to five feet tall and two feet wide, with columnar habit.
Related: For a smaller native grass, try little bluestem, which won Perennial Plant of the Year in 2022.
Growing 'Blackhawks' big bluestem
Exposure: Full sun
How to grow it: Plant big bluestem in full sun and average garden soil with good drainage. To prevent flopping, avoid rich soils and do not fertilize. Provide moderate water for new plants, but once established it is very drought tolerant thanks to its deep root system, which also makes it a good choice for a slope that needs erosion control. Cut old foliage and seed heads down to the ground in late winter or early spring. USDA Zones 3–9.
Image courtesy of Walters Gardens
