Shade plants worth trying

Posted on April 21, 2015 by Scott Vogt

There is always that area in your landscape that is shaded. These areas can be frustrating, because they don’t grow turf well leaving the soil bare. Here are a few good shade plants to spruce up that dark corner of your garden.

Columbine, Aquliegia canadensis

Delicate but tough wildflower for the shade garden. Flowers are red with yellow that bloom in April and May. Plants ultimately reach 12-24 inches tall in part-shade to shade. They are quite adaptable, but prefer an average to moist soil.

Appalachian Sedge, Carex appalachica

This sedge looks like it came straight from the 80’s big hair days. The punked out spikes reach 12 to 18 inches straight up in any shade garden. This lovely sedge is native to dry woods. Its fine texture and fountaining habit make it a lovely groundcover in dry shady sites, even in the root zone of trees.

Woodland Phlox, Phlox divaricata

This native phlox is a favorite spring wildflower. It can be found along streams and in open woods. The 12 inch clumps are covered with delicate 1.5 inch lavender flowers in May. Quick to fill in areas when happy, it requires little or no maintenance.

Photo courtesy of Walters Gardens.

Epimedium ‘Lilafee’

This dwarf Epimedium grandiflorum is one tough cookie in the landscape. In mid-spring, the new ear-shaped foliage emerges with a dramatic bronzy-lavender color. The delicate violet flowers dance above the heart-shaped foliage.

White Woodland Aster, Aster divaricatus ‘Eastern Star’

This nice selection for the woodland border has pure clean white flowers atop the mahogany stems. It blooms in September and October, adding splashes of color to your shade garden later in the season. It prefers part-shade to shade in an average to moist soil. It is a weaver that slowly fills open areas, but it is not aggressive.

Scott’s Top Ten Sun-Loving Plants for Spring 2015

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Scott Vogt

One of the themes this spring for planting is diversity. By planting a diversity of wildflowers and grasses in your garden, you will attract many different forms of wildlife, including pollinators and birds. A wide variety of plants blooming at different times of the year will provide interest and beauty throughout the growing season.

As we have been busily getting ready for the plant sale this week, I can’t help but notice the diversity of plants available this spring. There are so many wonderful plants to choose and incorporate into a landscape setting.

Here are my top sun-loving plants for the spring sale:

Green Antelopehorn (Asclepias viridis)

This is the 2015 Kansas Native Plant Society wildflower of the year. It grows 18 to 24 inches tall with green flowers in May and June. It loves full sun and thrives in dry prairies. Monarchs use milkweeds as a host plants. Grow this species or any other milkweeds to increase habitat for the perilous populations of monarchs.

Photo courtesy Walters Gardens.

Penstemon ‘Dark Towers’

It is beautiful in flower and foliage. In early spring, the whitish-pink tubular flowers emerge. Bees and even hummingbirds flock to these flowers to sip the sweet nectar. Not only is it attractrive when blooming but the maroon-purple foliage adds interest the rest of the year. A plant for the front of a border that is attractive at many different seasons of the year.

Blue Grama, Boutleoua gracilis ‘Blonde Ambition’

I was blown away by this grass last summer. It looked fantastic with the airy golden flowers all summer. The horizontal eyelash-like flowers wave in the wind atop the fine blue-green foliage. It grows effortlessly in any sunny site and just about any soil. Great in mass plantings or along borders edges. Quite the dramatic, unique grass.

Ironplant, Vernonia lettermanii ‘Iron Butterfly’

I have grown to appreciate the toughness of this wildflower. This selection found in Arkansas has fine foliage like Amsonia hubrichtii but stays more compact. The dark purple flowers cover the entire plant in late summer attracting pollinators by the herd. It thrives in hot dry locations. When other plants are wilting, it is performing like a champ.

Photo courtesy Walters Gardens.

Arkansas Bluestar, Amsonia hubrichtii

I have put this plant on my top ten list just about every year because it is a great plant. Sky blue flowers in spring develop atop stems with narrow leaves that whorl the stem. Each plant can grow about three feet tall and three feet wide. The real show is in the fall as the entire plant turns a beautiful golden yellow. Plant in mass or alone in the middle of the border. A garden worthy plant that should be used more.

Photo courtesy Walters Gardens.

Little Bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium ‘Twilight Zone’

This is a new and improved form of native Little Bluestem. It colors up beautifully in the early fall but the iridescent silver-mauve foliage from spring to fall is eye-catching. Growing stiffly upright, this grass reaches three to four feet tall by the end of summer. Plant as a backdrop for other perennials because the foliage is a wonderful complement. Great native grass for interesting foliage and form.

Photo courtesy Terra Nova Nursery.

Agastache ‘Raspberry Summer’

What an awesome perennial! The large, dark raspberry pink blooms cover this plant all summer and into fall. Pollinators flock to the blooms and make the plant come alive with activity. Plant in full sun and well-drained soil.

Yellow Purple Coneflower Echinacea paradoxa

A yellow purple coneflower is a paradox. However, it is tough and beautiful. The flowers emerge in May and June with long yellow ray petals. It grows best in full sun, ultimately reaching 3-4 feet tall. Mix with native grasses like Little Bluestem or Switchgrass to showcase the attractive seedheads later in the year.

Solidago ‘Little Lemon’ Photo courtesy of North Creek Nurseries

Solidago “Little Lemon’

Goldenrods get a bad rap for causing allergies. Actually, they don’t cause your allergies in the fall – that is the fault of the ragweed pollen instead. So now that you know that tid-bit of information, you can plant this dwarf goldenrod in your garden. It grows to 12 inches tall and mixes well with short grasses along a border or edge. Plant in full sun for best results.

Photo courtesy Walters Gardens.

Beebalm Monarda ‘Cherry Pops’

Brilliant cherry-red flowers cover this new bee balm in midsummer. The well-branched plants have clean mildew-resistant foliage creating a compact mound. Each nectar sweet flower attracts hosts of pollinators throughout the summer. Great new form for the front of a border or along a sidewalk.

It is time to get these plants in the ground. The beneficial rains of the past few weeks have really got me itching to plant some of these varieties this spring. There are so many beautiful plants that are worth trying. Hopefully, you will have a chance to stop by the plant sale, take a look and give some of them a try in your own garden.

Seven Steps to Planning Your Native Landscape

Posted on April 15, 2015 by Scott Vogt

Interest in native landscaping is growing in popularity. This time of year leading up to our spring plant sale, homeowners and businesses contemplate what they would like their landscape to look like. They desire a garden that captures the essence of the prairie, a landscape that creates a sense of place.

Nature gives us such a good model to follow. The diversity and resiliency of native wildflowers and grasses is amazing. We can mimic the prairie and bring it home to our gardens. Follow these seven steps as you develop a plan using native plants.

1. Plants should match your site.

This is the most important element in developing a successful landscape. Take a critical look at the area you want to landscape with native plants. Is it sunny? It is shaded for part of the day? What type of soil do you have? Is there a microclimate? Is it exposed to wind? All these factors will guide you as you select plants for your site. This step requires some research and time as you familiarize yourself with the qualities and environmental needs of native plants.

2. Succession of Bloom

There are no Wave Petunias in the prairie. If you visit a prairie landscape like the Konza Prairie every two to three weeks throughout the year, you will observe plants beginning to bloom, in full bloom or going out of bloom. That is how you need to design your native landscape. Include plants that bloom in every season of the year and then strategically add grasses for movement and texture in the winter months. Again, take time to acquaint yourself with the life cycles of wildflowers and grasses.

3. Forms and Textures

A diversity of plants woven together artistically can create a dramatic effect. Pay attention to the various shapes, textures and colors present in the prairie. Notice how the plants look year-round, not just when they are in bloom. Highlight interesting plant characteristics such as seed heads, forms, and fall color.

4. Interesting Lines

Rock Edging or a clean line along your display bed and lawn can add visual interest. It can also lead you through your garden. Interesting lines lead our eyes and makes you want to see what is around the corner.

5. Complementary Colors

Plant the colors you like, but make them complement each other. Use a color wheel to mix plants. Example: Purples (Spiderwort) and yellows (Coreopsis) are attractive together because they are opposite on the color wheel while whites (Penstemon) harmonize/blend the landscape together.

6. Intentional Plant Height

Are there areas that need screening? Is there an opportunity to layer plants from shortest to tallest as a foundation planting? Is it an island bed that has taller plants in the center with shorter wildflowers and grasses radiating to the edges? Keep plants in scale by not planting wildflowers that are taller than half the bed width. Example: If your bed is six feet wide, only plants that are three feet tall will keep the display in scale. You would not want to plant a compass plant is such a small bed.

7. Perennial and annual weed control

I have made this mistake too often. In a rush to plant, I don’t get problem weeds like bindweed and Bermudagrass under control before planting. I am still fighting this issue to this day in some of these landscape settings. However, when I take the time to properly eradicate these weeds, the overall success of the garden and work to maintain it long-term greatly increase. A little work at the beginning will save you many headaches down the road.

If you have questions about native plants or need help choosing what plants will grow best in your area, visit our spring plant sale or choose from landscape designs on the website. With proper planning and careful consideration, you can create a sustainable garden utilizing native plants adapted to your landscape environment. Transform your landscape using native plants that are sustainable, easy to maintain, and beautiful.

False Indigo: Beautiful Baptisias Reach for the Sky

Posted on April 8, 2015 by Scott Vogt

Every spring I marvel at the changing landscape, especially prairies that have been burned. A seemingly lifeless and brown prairie is turned black by fire and reduced to ashes. This important process removes last year’s growth, allowing the sun to warm the soil. This warmth is just what native wildflowers and grasses need to emerge from their winter slumber. They jump to life in just a few warm days, turning the charred plains emerald green.

In this new growth, there are some very recognizable plants that stand out. Indigos rise from rocky hillsides and dot the landscape in early spring with beautiful blue, white and cream flowers. They thrive in challenging environments because of their deep roots. The roots of wild indigos can be quite extensive – reaching down over ten feet deep – making them impervious to drought.

Baptisia ‘Indigo Spires”

Locally, only two varieties of indigos grow in the prairies of south-central Kansas. Blue False Indigo (Baptisia australis var. minor) has a stately posture. The entire plant is stiffly upright and forms a miniature canopy with the attractive blue-green foliage. The showy spires of small pea-like blooms develop in May. Later in the season, oblong brownish-black seed pods emerge providing another highlight to this beautiful wildflower. They love any sunny spot with well-drained soil. They are difficult to move once established because of the deep tap roots.

Native Blue False Indigo

Cream Wild Indigo (Baptisia bracteata) is the other indigo found in our area. It is one of the earliest wildflowers to bloom. In fact, one of the plants outside the Visitor Center is showing flower buds now, in the first week of April. The creamy-white flowers are held horizontally to the ground in long prostate clusters. Again, these flowers turn into brownish-black seed pods filled with small beans. The entire plant has a fuzzy appearance from leaves to the stem. They are tough and drought tolerant when planted in a well-drained soil with full sun.

Other nativars (cultivars of native plants) worth trying are Baptisia ‘Blue Berry Sundae’ Blue flowers, 24-36 inches tall; Baptisia ‘Cherry Jubilee’ Maroon/yellow flower, 30-36 inches tall; Baptisia ‘Lemon Meringue’ Lemon/yellow flowers, 36 inches tall; Baptisia ‘Vanilla Cream’ Pastel yellow flowers, 24-36 inches tall; Baptisia ‘Indigo Spires’ Dark Purple flowers, 36-48 inches tall; Baptisia ‘Blue Towers’ Blue flowers, 48-54 inches tall; and Baptisia ‘Pink Truffles’ Pink flowers, 30-36 inches tall. All of these varieties will be available at our upcoming plant sale in just a few weeks time.

Baptisia ‘Lemon Meringue’

Baptisia ‘Pink Truffles’

Baptisia ‘Cherries Jubilee’

I have always been enamored with Baptisia. They are so resilient. They effortlessly survive in the toughest conditions. To see a whole prairie dotted with indigos as far as the eye can see is amazing. The stunning beauty of these wildflowers can be brought home as well. They adapt to any sunny landscape setting. I can’t resist their charm and beauty.

A Garden-Worthy Perennial: Threadleaf Bluestar

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Scott Vogt

Amsonia hubrichtii, the threadleaf bluestar, is one of my favorite plants. It was not well known among gardeners until the Perennial Plant Association named it the 2011 Plant of the Year. The species was discovered in 1942 by Leslie Hubricht growing in the Ouachita Mountains in central Arkansas. The species was later named in her honor.

Each plant has ornamental qualities that make it stand out from other perennial wildflowers. In May and June, clusters of small powder blue, star-like flowers top the strong stems. The stems are encircled with soft, narrow leaves resembling pine needles, making each plant look like a small shrub with feathery texture and incredible fullness. I have found them to be extremely hardy, drought tolerant and very low maintenance.

The real show develops in September when the foliage turns a butter yellow fading to a golden brown by October. One specimen plant is spectacular in each season of the year, but a group of ten or more massed together and strategically located are quite stunning. Individual plants can reach up to 48 inches tall and 24-36 inches wide. They prefer full sun to partial shade and an average garden soil.

This summer I have only watered them 3 times, so they are tough. At the arboretum, they are planted along the east border paths. Amsonia hubrichtii is a dynamic perennial that deserves a place in your garden.

Other Amsonia are just as ornamental, but offer different textural elements and sizes for just about any sunny to partial shade landscape setting. They are Amsonia illustris, Amsonia ‘Blue Ice’, Amsonia cilliata and Amsonia rigida.

Find amsonia hubrichtii and other garden-worthy perennials on our Plant List 2015 and visit us at our FloraKansas Spring Plant Sale, April 24-27, 2015.

Vines: Taking Your Landscape to a New Level

Posted on March 18, 2015 by Scott Vogt

Vines are underutilized in nearly every garden, in my opinion, including here at the arboretum. It may be that we don’t have the structures to support them and show off their attributes, or we are unfamiliar with how to grow them. Either way they need to be used more. In fact, I think vines are one of nature’s greatest gifts to gardeners. They can give us shade by covering a pergola, camouflage ugly elements within the garden such as sheds, poles and fences, or bring color, texture, and fragrance to a trellis or arbor. Vines are utilitarian because they fit into almost any available space. I need to use them more here at the arboretum, so I thought we could work through this problem together and maybe begin to incorporate these native vines to a greater extent, literally.

Trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens ‘Major Wheeler’) is the best selection of honeysuckle I have grown. It has twining stems with smooth leaves that seem to be resistant to mildew. But who grows this plant for the foliage? I love the flowers. In late spring, it is covered in red trumpet shaped blooms that keep coming well into summer, especially with a post-bloom trim. The hummingbirds will find it from miles around. It grows best in a medium to moist well-drained soil and partial shade.

Major Wheeler Trumpet Honeysuckle

Dutchman’s Pipe-vine (Aristolochia tomentosa) is a vigorous, climbing woody vine without tendrils. The interesting pipe shaped flowers appear in May and June. Large, heart-shaped leaves are attractive throughout the year and turn a nice yellow in the fall. In Kansas, it is found in the southeastern counties. I have this vine growing in morning sun and afternoon shade. It will need a trellis or arbor to grow on and a medium to moist soil. Pipevine is the host plant for the Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly.

Grape Honeysuckle (Lonicera reticulata ‘Kintley’s Ghost) is a vine we have been using for several years. We have it growing on either side of the entrance to the Visitor Center. The gray-green leaves develop in an attractive eucalyptus pattern. At the terminal ends of the stems the bright yellow flowers develop in spring. It can grow in sun to partial shade and prefers an average to moist soil. It is great in form and flower.

Grape Honeysuckle

American Bittersweet (Celastrus scandens) is grown for the beautiful fruit clusters that develop during the summer and are noticed and eaten by birds in the fall. Male/female plants are separate and both are needed to produce fruit. Foliage is attractive on the twining stems. It grows best in a morning sun location, but can grow in full sun if given some supplemental water during the summer. Train along fence or over an arbor. Celastrus scandens ‘Autumn Revolution’ is a form with male and female flowers on the same plants.

Bittersweet Fruit

Passion Flower (Passiflora incarnata) develops three inch diameter lavender flowers that have a rich fragrance. These flowers are striking and have religious symbolism. The vines can reach up to 12’ in one year and die back to the ground during the winter. Situate in a semi-shade area with a medium to moist soil. I would mulch lightly to protect crown from harsh winter temperatures.

Other vines for the garden are Pitcher’s Leather Flower (Clematis pitcheri), Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea peteolaris), and Kentucky Wisteria (Wisteria macrostachya ‘Powell’s Purple’)

Don’t miss the opportunity to include these great vines in your garden by visiting the arboretum spring plant sale. I tend to keep flowers at ground level but these vines will take your garden to new heights and add interest to levels not normally utilized.

For more information on these vines and other garden worthy plants visit the arboretum website at www.dyckarboretum.org.

Fremont’s Clematis: A Rare Beauty

Posted on March 11, 2015 by Scott Vogt

The other day, I began transplanting seedlings of Fremont’s Clematis for our FloraKansas spring plant sale. I was thrilled that we actually will have some to offer this year. In the past, we have struggled to achieve germination, but this year we have been successful.

Fremont’s Clematis Seedlings

The seed from which these plants germinated was collected last summer, as our staff took a detour on our way back from a retreat at the Flinthills Discovery Center in Manhattan. The seed germinated last fall and overwintered in the seedling flats. Over the past few weeks they have really come to life and it was time to move them before their taproot grew too large.

Fremont’s Clematis, or Clematis fremontii, a rare prairie native from Kansas and Nebraska, is quite different from the traditional climbing clematis species. It forms a small bush that is covered in spring (late-April) with sugar-bell shaped flowers of purple and white. Each flowers curls at the end. The oval leaves are leather tough and covered with fine hairs, almost fuzzy in appearance. These plants, once established, are resilient. They develop into large clumps. We have had several plants in the same spot for over 15 years, in one of the xeriscape beds just outside the Visitor Center entrance.

Fremont’s Clematis loves sun. We collected the seed from plants on a rocky hillside in central Kansas. They are thriving in that windswept exposed prairie. If they are thriving there, then all they need is plenty of sunlight (at least 6 hours) and a well-drained soil.

I always look forward to their arrival in spring. They are one of the first plants to emerge and bloom in our rock garden here at the arboretum. If they are happy, they will give you years of consistent beauty. Be sure to come early to the FloraKansas Plant Sale and get some while they are available!

WARNING: The Monarch Butterfly is Threatened

Posted on March 4, 2015 by Brad Guhr

Monarchs ingest toxic cardiac glycosides when their larvae eat milkweed leaves and advertise through their adult warning coloration: “look out for me…I’m poisonous!” The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may very soon be issuing its own warning on behalf of declining populations for this bright butterfly under the banner of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). A petition was submitted in August 2014 by The Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Food Safety, The Xerces Society, and Dr. Lincoln Brower to encourage listing of this species on the ‘threatened’ list. A ‘threatened species’ is one that is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.

Dramatic Population Decline

The following graph (Graph courtesy of the Monarch Joint Venture) shows over the last 20 years the area of monarch overwintering colonies in the forests of Central Mexico, which is their only overwintering location.

Figure from Monarch Watch

Their population trend of precipitous decline is discouraging. The part that is encouraging, however, is that we know exactly what the problem is – prairie habitat loss; specifically, the loss of milkweed (Asclepias spp.), the monarch host plant. Americans do not like to be restricted or forced to spend money on anything and a threatened listing under the ESA will do just that. It is my hope that we can avoid listing of the monarch butterfly and restore its population, but this will require both education and action. The action part is what I will address here. If you live in the following monarch corridor, you must take action now.

Figure from Monarch Watch

What Can We Do?

It can be fun, easy, and rewarding to establish milkweeds and I challenge everyone reading this post to take personal action in increasing milkweed populations in the coming growing season. There are two easy ways to do this: 1) establish milkweed plants in the areas you landscape, and 2) distribute milkweed seed in a nearby unmowed area.

Plant Milkweed Plants – Landscaping with native plants is rewarding and South Central Kansans have eight commercially-available native milkweed species they can plant, including Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed), syriaca (common milkweed), A. tuberosa (butterfly milkweed), A. viridis (green antelopehorn), A. speciosa (showy milkweed), A. sullivantii (smooth milkweed), A. hirtella (prairie milkweed), and A. verticillata (whorled milkweed). These species can be purchased at the Dyck Arboretum of the Plains spring plant sale, Monarch Watch, and Prairie Moon Nursery. Plants establish and flower in the first year with proper care and provide beauty and insect nectar sources in addition to host plant larval food for the monarch.

Showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa)

Distribute Milkweed Seed – Surely you know a grassland area along a nearby creek or waterway, in a park, or along a roadside that gets mowed or burned only periodically to keep it free of trees. Collect some seed from a nearby prairie or even buy some seed of the species above from a native seed nursery (good sources include Prairie Moon Nursery and Missouri Wildflowers Nursery), get permission to plant, and distribute your milkweed seeds in the fall or early winter so that germination will happen and establishment will begin the following spring. Common milkweed ( A. syriaca) is the species most preferred by the monarch and is easiest to acquire and establish. Distributing seed is a very cost effective and easy way to establish milkweed were it doesn’t currently exist.

Common milkweed (Aslepias syriaca) with monarch eggs

Do you remember the massive flocks of the passenger pigeon? Of course you don’t – Martha, the last known individual died in 1914. Your grandparents or great grandparents, however, may have been able to tell you first hand stories. First hand experiences with monarchs may be something we currently take for granted. If we don’t act now, these encounters with monarchs may be something our grandkids or great grandkids never experience. Don’t let this happen.

Is Your Gumbo Soil Making You Sing the Blues?

Posted on February 25, 2015 by Scott Vogt

Our soil here in Kansas is gumbo. Not the delicious soup, but heavy clay. It is clay all the time and all the time it is clay. I have tried to describe it to others, but it needs to be experienced. They may say they have something similar, but for us who endure it and garden in it and curse it, it is exasperating. Unbelievable, really.

Clay soil is often too wet or too dry. When wet, it sticks to your shoes and tools like a leach. Every step you take makes you one inch taller. When dry, it is like concrete, impenetrable, and cracks wide open.

Do you ever feel like you need one of these to work in your clay soil?

I had a gentleman from Ohio work with me one spring. Every morning with anticipation I awaited his next derogatory comment about our clay soils. He really grew to dislike it and even questioned my sanity for trying to garden in it. “I have never seen anything like it!” he said. He was so ready to go back home to his beautiful Midwestern soil.

Our soil is amazing stuff – no doubt – and it presents challenges for growing plants. But let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of clay soil.

Positives of clay soils (Yes. There are a few.)

It holds water well – The fine particles are porous retaining water and holding it tightly.
It holds nutrients well – The tiny particles are negatively charged attracting many positive elements like phosphorus, potassium and other minor nutrients.

Negatives of clay soils

Low water infiltration rate (usually one inch per hour)
Shrinks and swells with moisture
Keeps root zone wet for prolonged periods, which is problematic for drought-tolerant native plants
Slow to warm in the spring
Compacts easily when worked wet
Often so tight that plant roots cannot grow

Tips for improving clay soils

So, do we have any hope of improving our clay soil? It can be done, but will require some work.

Organic matter, organic matter and more organic matter is what it will take to improve your soil. Put down at least six to eight inches of organic matter on the entire area you want to enhance. Organic matter can include shredded leaves, compost, grass clippings or aged manure.
Next, you must till the organic matter into the soil to a depth of at least six inches or deeper. Keep in mind that the deeper you go the more benefit to the soil you will realize.
When complete, the bed will be built up several inches. Not to worry, it will settle over time as the organic matter continues to break down and melt into the clay. It will take several seasons to fully accomplish the desired result which is a soil that is manageable.
Add organic matter on an annual basis for a garden or initially when establishing a new display bed.

Volunteers planting shrubs in our Prairie Window Project.

It is very difficult to improve an established bed. Adding mulch will improve it over time as the mulch begins to decompose. Any new plants that are established can benefit by digging a hole at least twice as big as needed and incorporating compost and existing soil together as you back fill around the root ball. Don’t just put compost around the roots as you back fill, because it will discourage the plant from rooting out into your gumbo soil. It is essentially like repotting the plant in the soil. The roots will only grow in the loose compost.

You will be rewarded for your efforts. Even a little compost mixed with your gumbo will improve your soil. Mulch it with two to three inches of mulch and over time you will develop a soil where plants thrive. Don’t let your soil get the best of you.

Five Benefits of Native Plants

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Scott Vogt

The prairies of the Great Plains are diverse and complex. They are often overlooked and taken for granted. They are subtle in beauty, but resilient. Because of the many benefits the prairie provides to us and the environment, it is an ecosystem worth saving. Here are five benefits of native plants – though there are certainly more that we will experience as we begin to utilize these plants in our landscape:

Low Maintenance

There is no such thing as a no-maintenance landscape. Native plants still need some care, but compared to a traditional landscape with a lawn, tidy shrubs and a few trees surrounded by perennial beds, native plants are extremely low in maintenance. Native plants are adapted to our climate and can grow in the toughest environments. Once established, their deep roots take them through prolonged periods of drought. It was great to see native plants blooming in the fall of 2012 after so many days of scorching heat. The blue sage, heath aster, goldenrod, little bluestem, and switchgrass brightened up our prairie reconstruction. It was a testament to their toughness. The slide below illustrates exactly why native plants are so much more resilient than the typical lawn – notice the difference in the root system of turf grass (far left) to many of the most common wildflowers and grasses of the prairie.

Saves money

There are obvious savings associated with a native landscape compared to maintaining a traditional landscape. A native landscape uses less water, little or no fertilizer and no chemicals or pesticides, which in turn saves you time. I am frugal and a native landscape is a low cost alternative to a traditional lawn-dominated landscape. Conservation and stewardship are trends that help you and the environment.
Water

We have seen an increased interest in native plants because of the water they save once established. Many homeowners are decreasing their lawns as a way of saving water and money. Most roots on a fescue or bluegrass lawn are only three to four inches deep compared to prairie wildflowers and grasses that develop extensive root systems several feet deep. Big Bluestem grass for example establishes roots up to ten feet deep. With a shallow root system, a typical lawn requires ten gallons of water per square foot through the summer to keep it looking green. If you minimize your lawn, you will begin to diminish your dependence on water. Click here for an example of a Waterwise Landscape Design.
Beautiful plants

If you have ever walked through a pristine prairie or observed the changing seasons in the Flint Hills, you know the exquisite beauty of wildflowers in bloom coupled with native grasses. It is understated and taken for granted. I am always amazed at the complexity and intricacies of these prairie plants. They create a very unique sense of place.

Missouri Black-eyed Susan

Attract pollinators and wildlife

Pollinators and wildflowers have a symbiotic relationship. If you have wildflowers you will have butterflies. There have been over 20 documented butterflies in the arboretum during the butterfly counts. They seek out our wildflowers and utilize them throughout the year. Monarch populations are declining. They need milkweeds, and since we have milkweeds in the arboretum, they show up. Read this article on how to encourage and sustain the monarch butterfly population by planting milkweed varieties. Also, just like the Monarchs, songbird populations are declining. They need prairie habitat for survival along with wildflower seeds to feed overwintering birds.

Monarch caterpillar on swamp milkweed

There are more reasons to grow native plants, but you get the idea. Prairie is good, not only for you, but also for the environment. The many benefits far outweigh negative perception. When you plant native wildflowers and grasses, you will be rewarded time and again for your prairie habitat. I don’t know how we got away from our regional identity of a prairie landscape, but it is essential to who we are and what grows best here.

Columbine, Aquliegia canadensis

Appalachian Sedge, Carex appalachica

Woodland Phlox, Phlox divaricata

Epimedium ‘Lilafee’

White Woodland Aster, Aster divaricatus ‘Eastern Star’

Green Antelopehorn (Asclepias viridis)

Penstemon ‘Dark Towers’

Blue Grama, Boutleoua gracilis ‘Blonde Ambition’

Ironplant, Vernonia lettermanii ‘Iron Butterfly’

Arkansas Bluestar, Amsonia hubrichtii

Little Bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium ‘Twilight Zone’

Agastache ‘Raspberry Summer’

Yellow Purple Coneflower Echinacea paradoxa

Solidago “Little Lemon’

Beebalm Monarda ‘Cherry Pops’

1. Plants should match your site.

2. Succession of Bloom

3. Forms and Textures

4. Interesting Lines

5. Complementary Colors

6. Intentional Plant Height

7. Perennial and annual weed control

Dramatic Population Decline

What Can We Do?

Positives of clay soils (Yes. There are a few.)

Negatives of clay soils

Tips for improving clay soils

Low Maintenance

Saves money

Water

Beautiful plants

Attract pollinators and wildlife

Join us in re-establishing some prairie roots in your own yard, and then spread the word by sharing this information with your friends.