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Kentucky Bluegrass

Poa pratensis

59
Strong

Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height
4–24 inches
Spread
6 inches
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Usually moist

Space about 1 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 100 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
Mid spring
Fruiting season
Spring to summer

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 12 West Virginia counties.

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

37CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV

Genus host records with ranges including WV · 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
  • Atalopedes huronSachem
  • Cercyonis pegalaCommon Wood Nymph
  • Chrysoteuchia topiariusCranberry Girder, Subterranean Webworm, Topiary Grass-Veneer
Show all 37
  • Ctenucha virginicaVirginia Ctenucha
  • 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
  • Leucania phragmitidicolaNeedle Wainscot, Phragmites Wainscot
  • 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
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
1BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Poa

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
9BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Poa

  • Anser caerulescensSnow Goose
  • Branta canadensisCanada Goose
  • Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
  • Lagopus leucuraWhite-tailed Ptarmigan
  • Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
  • Pooecetes gramineusVesper Sparrow
  • Spizella breweriBrewer's Sparrow
  • Spizella passerinaChipping Sparrow
  • Spizella pusillaField Sparrow
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

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

Conservation status

West Virginia rankS4
Global rankG5
WV statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.

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How to check your spot

Growing cautions

  • Spreads by rhizomes. USDA PLANTS lists its growth form as rhizomatous. USDA PLANTS

For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.

Sources