Gone With the Wind Prairie Dropseed Grass

Light Needs

Full Sun

(6+ Hours Direct Sun)

Mature Height

3 Feet

Mature Spread

2 Feet

Growing Zones

3 to 9

Prairie Dropseed is a North American native grass that is easy to incorporate into existing gardens. Gone With The Wind is a reliable, moderately self-seeding cultivar that attracts beneficial and native pollinators. Its deep roots can help stabilize slopes or areas near retaining walls and driveways. The delicate flower heads turn the plant a reddish-brown color and remain upright throughout the winter. Sporobolus heterolepsis ‘Gone With The Wind’ has all of the best attributes of older varieties but is much better behaved for an urban or suburban landscape. 

Plant Prairie Dropseed in large groups to make a dramatic statement in the garden or naturalize an area of your yard. Its compact growth makes it a great choice for individual pots or large container arrangements. Gone With The Wind is heat tolerant and will establish deep roots that stand up to drought. Deer rarely browse on ornamental grasses and slugs and snails feast elsewhere. 

Gone With The Wind Prairie Dropseed Grass Care

Prairie Dropseed is not fussy about soil texture and accepts clay, sandy loam, and rocky soil as long as the drainage is consistently good all year long. Avoid overfertilizing and planting in rich soil, which can reduce flowering and weaken foliage. Full sun exposure will promote the best growth, although shade early or late in the day is acceptable.

Like other ornamental grasses, Gone With The Wind will become drought tolerant after it is fully established in the landscape. As a rule, the more ornamental grasses are watered, the larger they will grow. Gardeners in climates with rainy summers will grow larger plants than those in drier climates. 

Prune Prairie Dropseed annually, either late in the winter or early in the spring before new growth appears. Allow the seed heads to persist through the winter to feed wildlife. Dividing Gone With The Wind is a bit more time consuming than dividing more shallowly rooted perennials. Use a folding garden saw or other bladed tool to separate the dense root system. 

Gone With The Wind Prairie Dropseed Grass Spacing

Gone With The Wind Prairie Dropseed forms a mounded clump 3 feet tall by 2 feet wide. Space the plants 18 inches apart to form a dense ground cover or mass planting. Choose a container with at least a 16-inch diameter to grow this ornamental grass as a specimen.

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