I would go with Little Bluestem. Its gorgeous growing on slopes and will stand up to the fast water run off. Panicum is a bit punk if it doesn't get sufficient water. Old stands of panicum also form doughnut holes, I just divided three established plants this year that were getting pretty bad. Bluestem has a tendency to space itself out into separate plants, so each plant is like an exclamation mark & it will self sow. I see it on sandstone outcrops along the the highway here and it looks fantastic. Some types of bluestem will grow as tall as panicum but not into thick clumps like panicum.

Thanks for your suggestion.

After doing a little reading, I see that little blue stem has a tendency to flop. Do you have any experience with the more upright cultivars? I live in the Washington DC area, and we have humid summers with some heavy rain. I'm not sure how that compares to your Texas environment.

Have you had LBS long enough to see that it doesn't have a big problem with dying in the middle the clump?

I'm in central Oklahoma smack in the middle of the Great Plains which is prairie grass country. It can get quite humid here, especially in June and we got some flooding last year--- the LBS did fine. Its sort of up to anything our weather can dish out and that involves extremes in many directions. We are famous for either too wet or too dry. Too cold or too hot.

LBS only tends to flop in overly rich garden soil or too much shade. Lean soil is best. You can check around and find the best genotype for your local conditions in the form of bulk seed, I understand most of the US has it listed as a native grass.

Your 45 degree angle description sounded like it would have fast run off so seems it would would be dry in summer? The best cultivar type for avoiding flopping is 'Blue Heaven' and its got great color in late summer and fall. It also seems to be more shade tolerant than all the others, surprisingly tolerant in fact. Standing Ovation is another that is supposed to be flop proof. It could get expensive buying cultivar plants if the area is big. the worst for flopping in my experience is 'The Blues' because they form such thick seed heads that they ended up being top heavy. I just replaced a stand of 'The Blues' with 'Blue Heaven'.

I've had Little bluestem growing here in my prairie garden quite some time and never seen the middle die out. It grows wild around here just about everywhere and each plant is fairly narrow and tall, no middle die outs, they look more like exclamation marks. Its also long lived with very deep roots. Some types are greener, some sort of gunmetal deep blue and others are powder blue. Heights vary from one area to the next.

I grow several types, both local and some cultivars but have never seen any that wasn't a great grass. Currently last years growth along the roadsides is still standing straight and tall with a definite orange color since no one trims those out there. By summer, they will be green (as long as the rain comes) and then gorgeous in fall.

Thanks, that's very helpful. I'm glad to hear it doesn't die out in the middle. I'll check out the cultivars you recommended. Another supposedly flop-free I read about is Prairie munchkin.

We usually don't get huge amounts of rain in the summer, so the hill stays fairly dry, although I think it mostly soaks in when it rains.

Just another comment. I grow 4 types of panicum. Those will flop pretty bad in a wet year, the more water they get, the taller they grow and the taller they get the more likely they are to flop. P. 'Heavy Metal' has never flopped on me. P. 'Northwind' is a good stiff vertical over-all but it will occasionally flop temporarily if its days of very heavy rain but then it will stand back up finally, Rothsthalbush splays out from the center pretty bad when too wet because its got finer leaves and finer stems on the bloom stalks. Dallas Blues is much coarser & bigger in every respect with thick stalks and so far it hasn't flopped but I haven't had it in a wet year yet so the verdict is still out. I doubt it would with stems that thick. Years ago I grew 'Prairie Sky' and it was a real bad flopper in good garden soil. Panicums will flop in heavy snow in winter as well and look tattered by spring if you get lots of snow, we don't around here.

BTW, P. 'Northwind' was the one I had to divide this year due to centers dying out, that started last year and it was really bad this spring--- definite doughnuts. P. 'Heavy Metal' is the same age but so far (fingers crossed), no middle die-out.

On steep inclines I often see Indian Grass growing along with Little Bluestem and it really stands out due to the form and very light blue color. Panicum seems to prefer growing in lower wetter spots around here, it forms gigantic clumps that are several feet in diameter in the native habitat. I saw a clump the other day that was at least 12 or 15 feet in diameter. Big Bluestem is much rarer to see around here, usually I see it growing on a flat prairie and don't notice it at all until late fall when I see the seed heads towering over the rest.

A bit late, but this sounds so much like your situation, that I had to comment. These are a grouping of Panicum Cloud Nine, under-planted with Rudbeckia Goldstrum. The slope is approx. 45 degrees and they are in clay heavy soil. The Cloud Nine does droop a bit after flowering when we have heavy rains, but not much and it dries out and goes back up on it's own. Hot and humid here in Ky also. I've never felt I needed to divide the Cloud Nine (no die back in four years), but I like the option for free grasses. Other than removing the blackberry bush starts in early spring

, I never have to weed here. Priceless.

Hey texasranger2, are you out there still? I’d like to follow up with you on this topic from two years ago. I planted little bluestem on my slope last fall (finally), and I have several related questions. Thanks!