Kentucky Bluegrass
Poa pratensis
—
Not native
Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- 4–24 inches
- Spread
- 6 inches
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- Mid spring
- Fruiting season
- Spring to summer
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 92 Virginia counties and cities.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 30 animals.
Widespread birds also seen here (43)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Crow
- American Goldfinch
- American Robin
- Bank Swallow
- Black Vulture
- Blue Jay
- Carolina Chickadee
- Carolina Wren
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chimney Swift
- Common Grackle
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Raven
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Downy Woodpecker
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Towhee
- Fish Crow
- Golden-crowned Kinglet
- Gray Catbird
- Great Crested Flycatcher
- Great Horned Owl
- Hooded Merganser
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Pine Siskin
- Purple Finch
- Red-shouldered Hawk
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird
- Rusty Blackbird
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Song Sparrow
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Turkey Vulture
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-crowned Night-heron
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
39CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Poa
- Acrolophus popeanellaClemen's Grass Tubeworm
- Agrotis gladiariaSwordsman Dart, Clay-Backed Cut-Worm
- Amblyscirtes hegonPepper and Salt Skipper
- Amblyscirtes vialisCommon Roadside-Skipper, Black Little Skipper
- Ancyloxypha numitorLeast Skipper
- Anicla infectaGreen Cutworm Moth
- Apamea devastatorGlassy Borer, Glassy Cutworm Moth
- Arugisa luteaCommon Arugisa
- Atalopedes huronSachem
- Cercyonis pegalaCommon Wood Nymph
Show all 39
- Chrysoteuchia topiariusCranberry Girder, Subterranean Webworm, Topiary Grass-Veneer
- Feltia jaculiferaDingy Cutworm
- Fissicrambus mutabilisStriped Webworm, Striped Sodworm, Changeable Grass-Veneer
- Hesperia leonardusLeonard's Skipper, Blazing Star Skipper, Pawnee Prairie Skipper, Pawnee Montane Skipper
- Hylephila phyleusFiery Skipper
- Lacinipolia meditataThe Thinker
- Lerodea eufalaEufala Skipper, Gray Skipper, Rice Leafroller
- Leucania phragmitidicolaNeedle Wainscot, Phragmites Wainscot
- Leucania subpunctataWhite-Dotted Wainscot, Forage Armyworm
- Limochores mysticLong Dash
- Lon hobomokHobomok Skipper
- Lon zabulonZabulon Skipper
- Macrochilo litophoraAngulate Fan-Foot, Brown-Lined Owlet
- Marimatha nigrofimbriaBlack-Bordered Lemon
- Megisto cymelaLittle Wood Satyr
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Nephelodes miniansBronzed Cutworm
- Nomophila nearcticaLucerne Moth, American Celery Webworm
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Parapediasia teterrellusBluegrass Webworm
- Pediasia trisectaSod Webworm Moth, Larger Sod Webworm
- Phalaenostola larentioidesBlack-Banded Owlet, Black-Banded Phalaenostola
- Phalaenostola metonalisPale Epidelta, Pale Phalaenostola
- Polites corasPeck's Skipper, Yellow-Patch Skipper
- Polites themistoclesTawny-Edged Skipper
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Elachista illectella
- Gonioterma mistrella
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
6BirdsRecorded eating Poa in Virginia
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Virginia, most records first.
- Vesper Sparrow4 diet records
- Wild Turkey4 diet records
- Chipping SparrowSeeds. 3 diet records
- Field SparrowSeeds. 2 diet records
- Canada GooseLeaves. 1 diet record
- Snow GooseLeaves. 1 diet record
Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Birds that eat Poa 6
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- Vesper SparrowPooecetes gramineus
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina
- Field SparrowSpizella pusilla
- Canada GooseBranta canadensis
- Snow GooseChen caerulescens
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 3a–7b
- Soil pH
- Neutral to alkaline
- Flower color
- Gray/silver, green or purple
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Spreads by rhizomes
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Spring
- Fruit ends
- Summer
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Mid spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Flower color · “Gray/silver, green or purple” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Spreads by rhizomes” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 3a–7b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “4–24 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Neutral to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “6 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications