Purple Love Grass is a small Florida native with attractive reddish-purple wispy plumes. It is a low maintenance plant that loves full sun, growing low to the ground making a nice addition to the landscape. Once established, it is drought tolerant, though it can also tolerate wet soils.
How to care for Purple Love Grass
Light. Needs full sun. It does best on hot, dry sites.
Water. Water regularly for the first couple of weeks after planting. Once established it should not need extra irrigation, even in droughts. It does not tolerate flooding.
Soil and feeding. It grows in a range of soils but does best in sand. Keep it away from salt spray.
Size. Grows to about 18 in, in a dense clump; well-grown plants can reach 2–3 ft or more.
Pruning. Cut it back to a few inches above the ground at the end of winter, just before new growth starts. Divide clumps during winter dormancy.
Good to know. A Florida native that blooms in fall, turning into a pink haze along borders. It is a larval host for the zabulon skipper, and birds eat the seed. It is a short-lived perennial.
Sources: UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions: Lovegrass · Florida Native Plant Society Plant Database: Eragrostis spectabilis
