Culture: Easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soils in full sun. Tolerates wide range soils including heavy clay. Tolerates drought. Cut to the ground in late winter before new growth appears. May self-seed in optimum growing conditions.
Noteworthy Characteristics: Tridens strictus, commonly called longspike tridens, is a densely tufted, Missouri native grass which occurs in both moist and dry soils on open ground, prairies, fields, waste areas, ditches and roadsides in the far southern part of the State. Typically grows 3-4′ tall. Thin blades (3/8″ wide). Brownish to rose-purplish flowers appear in mid-July in slender, dense, spike-like inflorescences (4-12″ long) which persist well into October. Common name refers to the spike-like panicles which easily distinguish this grass from Tridens flavus which has loose, wide-branching panicles.
Specific epithet means erect or upright.
Problems: No serious insect or disease problems.
Garden Uses: Prairies, meadows, native plant gardens, wild or naturalized areas. Other than the purple-tinged flower spikes, this somewhat weedy grass has very little ornamental value and is not usually considered appropriate for borders or other formal perennial plantings.
Perennial warm-season grass native to the East Coast and Southern Plains of the United States. It is a bunchgrass that when planted en masse puts a stunning reddish-purple top onto fields and meadows in mid-summer to early autumn. The purple seed heads are covered with an oily substance inspiring another common name, Grease Grass. Purpletop Grass is often found in pastures, woodland edges, and along railroad lines. Because it is tolerant of road salt, it is often found along roadside ditches – especially in New England. This species is the larval host of a number of butterflies and moths, including Cercyonis pegala (Common Wood Nymph), Polites origines (Crossline Skipper), Pompeius verna (Little Glassywing), and Poanes viator (Broad-winged Skipper). Seeds are eaten by birds.
