'Holy Smoke' is a cultivar of big bluestem, the tallgrass prairie native often called turkeyfoot for its three-branched seed heads. The tag shows slender, upright stems and blades streaked with purple, magenta, and green, with airy seed heads standing above the foliage. Foliage shifts toward smoky red-purple as the season ends and fades to russet through winter.
Like the species it wants full sun and fast drainage, and it tolerates drought, heat, and poor soil once its deep roots establish. Rich, wet soil tends to make it floppy. Birds eat the seed and use the dense clumps for cover. Cut stems to 4 to 6 inches in late winter before new growth emerges, and divide every several years if the center opens.
Ecoregions:Northern ForestsNorthwestern Forested MountainsEastern Temperate ForestsGreat Plains
Rust
Orange to brown raised pustules on the undersides of leaves, with yellow spotting on the upper surface. Heavy infections cause leaves to yellow and drop.
Remove and destroy infected leaves. Avoid overhead watering and improve air circulation. Apply a sulfur or copper-based fungicide if it spreads. Clear plant debris in fall.
Crown Rot
Lower leaves yellow and wilt; the base of the rosette turns brown and soft, sometimes with white fungal threads at the soil line. Plants collapse in wet conditions.
Remove and destroy affected plants. Improve drainage and avoid overhead watering. Do not mulch directly against the crown. Space plants for airflow and avoid replanting in the same wet spot.