Sweet Grass

Sweetgrass

Hierochloë odorata

A highly aromatic native grass known for its sweet vanilla-like fragrance. The slender green leaves release their distinctive scent when crushed or dried, making this plant one of the most culturally significant grasses in North America.

In early summer, delicate airy flower clusters rise above the foliage, though the plant is most recognized for its fragrant leaves rather than its flowers.

A Sacred Plant in Indigenous Culture

Sweetgrass holds deep cultural and spiritual importance in many Indigenous traditions. The long leaves are commonly braided and used in ceremony for smudging, prayer, and purification. The sweet smoke is traditionally believed to carry prayers and invite positive energy.

Because of its cultural significance, Sweetgrass has been carefully tended and harvested for generations.

A Fragrant Grass of Moist Meadows

Sweetgrass naturally grows in moist meadows, wet prairies, lake edges, and open wetlands. It spreads by underground rhizomes and can form fragrant patches in suitable conditions.

Due to its spreading nature, it can grow vigorously where moisture and sunlight are abundant.

Growing Information

Height: 1–2 ft
Spread: Spreading by rhizomes
Light: Full sun to part shade
Soil: Moist to wet soils
Hardiness: Zone 3–8
Growth Rate: Moderate to fast

Best planted in moist meadows, rain gardens, wetland edges, and cultural or medicinal gardens.

Ecological Importance

Sweetgrass:

Provides cover for small wildlife and insects
Helps stabilize moist soils with spreading rhizomes
Contributes to biodiversity in wet meadow ecosystems
Adds fragrant foliage to native plant communities

Larval Host Plant For

Several native moth species whose caterpillars feed on grasses.

Associated Wet Meadow & Prairie Species

Common companions in natural plant communities include:

• Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolor)
• Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
• Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum)
• Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum)
• Dark Green Bulrush (Scirpus atrovirens)
• Tussock Sedge (Carex stricta)
• Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)

Planting these species together helps recreate resilient wet meadow and prairie ecosystems that support pollinators, wildlife, and beneficial insects.

Planting to Protect
Restoring to Thrive
Origin Native Plants

3.5 inch Pots