Slim Pickens

I’ve always loved the North American native Indian grass, Sorghastrun nutans, but found the commercially available clones and seed strains to be poor performers in our heat and humidity. For years, I kept my eyes open for a better selection, and finally on a 2018 visit to the SC Botanic Garden, I spotted an amazing, narrowly-upright, powder-blue foliage clone in their seed-grown native plant prairie habitat garden. Garden director, Patrick McMillan, allowed us to take a small division for further trial, and subsequent introduction. Six years later, it’s every bit as good as our initial assessment. Due to its more southern nativity in Pickens County, NC, it has thrived in our summer heat and humidity. The photo below is taken this week. This is a late flowering form, with the beautiful plumes emerging in the next few weeks. Our choice of a cultivar name, ‘Slim Pickens’, refers to it’s habit, nativity, with a double entendre salute to one of our favorite character actors, Louis Lindley Jr…aka Slim Pickens, best known for his iconic role as the bumbling villain, Taggart in Blazing Saddles.

Sorghastrum nutans ‘Slim Pickens’

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