Put Native Plants to Work on Your Home Landscape

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Put Native Plants to Work on Your Home Landscape

• Grow Native! Makes it Easy

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Questions You May Have

• What are native plants?
• Why are they important?
• How can natives work in a home landscape?
• How can I start using natives?
• Which native species are right for my home
  garden?
• How can I ensure the success of my native
  plantings?
• Where can I get Missouri-grown native plant
  species?
• Where can I learn more about Missouris native
  plants?

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Missouris Native Plants Evolved with Local
Geology, Climate and Wildlife

• The current mix of natives has been here since
  the last Ice Age (10,000 years).
• Theyre tough and resilient.
• Wildlife prefer them for habitat.

Indian Paintbrush
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Non-natives were imported from other regions and
continents

• Most of our noxious weeds came by accident via
• cargo
• animals
• vehicles, clothing

• Some were purposely imported for
• medicine
• food/feed
• fiber
• ornamental landscaping
• conservation landscaping

• Some of these plants have become weeds!

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Many non-natives are socially and economically
important, but some are taking more than their
share of the landscape.
Purple Loosestrife
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Originally cultivated as an ornamental and
medicinal herb, purple loosestrife has escaped
cultivation and become an invasive weed of
wetlands in many regions throughout temperate
North America. Plants often form dense colonies
that displace native vegetation and wildlife.
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Common invasive non-natives
Bush Honeysuckle
Crown Vetch
Sericea Lespedeza
Teasel
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Well established native plant communities
resist noxious weed invasions.
Prairie Blazing Star and Warm Season Grasses
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Why Natives for Your Home?

• Provide a connection to natural heritage
• Add seasonal interest and color
• Help solve maintenance problems

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Connect With Your Natural Heritage

• Habitat landscapes provide close encounters with
  nature and a wonderful way to educate children.
• Native Americans and pioneers used native plants
  for food, fiber and medicine.

Native Americans used Bloodroot for dye.
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Add seasonal interest and color
American Beautyberry is one of the best shrubs
for fall display. The leaves turn yellow, and the
purple berries last until November. Birds love
the berries!
Green Hawthorn, a small flowering tree, gives you
early spring blossoms.
Wild Bergamot blooms in the summer, and
butterflies love it!
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Low-maintenance Natives Help You Solve
Problems

• Break up clay soil and absorb run-off.
• Resist drought and flood.
• Stabilize steep slopes.
• Reduce mowing, watering and replanting, saving
  you time and money.

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Its easy to get started using natives
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Add natives to existing plantings

• Choose natives appropriate for your growing
  conditions and neighborhood.
• Consider a native alternative, like native red
  maple instead of an exotic Amur Maple.

Flowering dogwoods add spring and fall interest
to this forest edge.
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Start Fresh With a Berm
A new mound of dirt gives you a clean slate.
Small affordable designs let you
do-it-in-a-day.
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even if you dont have a yard!

• Choose native species for containers according to
  light and water needs.
• The glade and short prairie species shown in this
  photo will do well on a sunny patio.

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Grow Native! Landscape Plans Attract Watchable
Wildlife or Help Control Run-off

• Seven plans designed to support a variety of
  watchable wildlife.
• Affordablestart small and add, or
• Complete in a weekend.

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Butterfly Berm

• Easy family project
• Nectar-rich species
• Good for sunny spot

Add a shallow saucer with damp sand and rocks for
a butterfly watering hole.
Butterfly landing pads!
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Butterfly Berm
6. Prairie Blazing Star 7. Butterfly Weed 8.
Lanceleaf Coreopsis 9. Downy Phlox 10.
Shining Blue Star

• Buttonbush
• New Jersey Tea
• Rose Verbena
• Purple Coneflower
• Aromatic Aster

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NEW JERSEY TEA
ROUGH BLAZING STAR
AROMATICASTER
BUTTERFLY MILKWEED
BUTTONBUSH
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Hummingbird Haven

• Similar to
• Butterfly Berm
• Lots of nectar
• Lots of different colors!

Add a hummingbird feeder or water mister to keep
hummers around into fall.
Nectar-rich florets!
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Hummingbird Haven
6. Wild Bergamot 7. Meadow Phlox 8.
Foxglove Beardtongue 9. Purple Beardtongue 10.
Rose Verbena

• Yellow Honeysuckle
• Royal Catchfly
• Blue Sage
• Red Buckeye
• Columbine

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ROYAL CATCHFLY
FOXGLOVE BEARDTONGUE
COLUMBINE
PURPLE BEARDTONGUE
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Frog Pond

• Perennial water feature
• Attractive to frogs, birds and other small
  creatures
• Bright colors
• Good for heavy, wet clay soils

A simple clay bottom pond allows frogs to
over-winter.
Wet and wild!
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Frog Pond

• 9. Southern Blue Flag
• 10. Wild Hydrangea
• 11. American Beautyberry
• 12. Golden Ragwort
• Fringetree
• Cardinal Flower
• Copper Iris
• Water Canna

• Eastern Redbud
• Tussock Sedge
• Columbine
• Downy Skullcap
• Cliff Goldenrod
• Pickerel Plant
• Blue Lobelia
• Garden Phlox

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PICKEREL PLANT
COPPER IRIS
CARDINAL FLOWER
SWAMP MILKWEED
BLUE LOBELIA
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Finch Feast

• Fruiting trees
• Shrubs
• Perennial forbs
• Seed-rich grasses

Add bird feeders, nest boxes and birdbaths to
make your landscape irresistible to a variety of
birds!
Plant a living bird feeder!
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Finch Feast

• Prairie Dropseed
• Purple Coneflower
• Rose Verbena
• Missouri Primrose
• Showy Goldenrod
• Eastern Gama Grass
• Prairie Blazing Star
• Orange Coneflower
• Blue False Indigo
• Grey-headed Coneflower
• Lanceleaf Coreopsis
• Purple Poppy Mallow

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PURPLECONEFLOWER
LANCELEAFCOREOPSIS
BLUE FALSE INDIGO
SHOWY GOLDENROD
ORANGECONEFLOWER
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Rain Garden

• Great for absorbing run-off
• Adds life, color and texture
• Turns a problem into a benefit

Your Rain Garden can absorb 30 more water than a
same sized turf.
These don't mind wet feet!
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Rain Garden

• Prairie Cord Grass
• Cardinal Flower
• Swamp Milkweed
• Golden Alexander
• New England Aster

• Virginia Wild Rye
• Prairie Blazing Star
• Blue Lobelia
• Wild Bergamot
• Meadow Phlox
• Culvers Root

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MEADOW PHLOX
BLUE LOBELIA
NEW ENGLAND ASTER
SWAMP MILKWEED
PRAIRIE BLAZING STAR
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Prairie Parcel

• Great lawn replacement on large properties
• Border with turf for firebreaks and definition
• Create with seeds or plugs

Jim Grace Photo
Be patient! It takes time for drought-tolerant dee
p roots to develop.
Colorful and varied!
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INDIAN GRASS
GRAY-HEAD CONEFLOWER
STIFF TICKSEEDCOREOPSIS
BLACK-EYEDSUSAN
SIDEOATS GRAMA
WILD BERGAMOT
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Chipmunk Hideout

• Glade species for a native rock garden
• Add stones, pots or logs
• Good for difficult areas along sidewalks, drives

A few rocks, a log or an old flowerpot on its
side can add a cozy retreat.
Add color to dry areas!
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PURPLE POPPYMALLOW
YELLOW CONEFLOWER
MISSOURIPRIMROSE
LITTLE BLUESTEM
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Tip for Long-Term Success Put the Right Plant
in the Right Place.
A natural glade can offer ideas for a rock garden.
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Match Plant Community Type to Your Growing Site

• Full sun, average soil and a large, rural
  acreage? Plant prairie species and burn or mow
  periodically.
• Lots of sun and a rocky, well-drained soil?
  Choose bright, compact glade species.
• A persistent boggy area with 6 hours of summer
  sun? Wetland species will work for you.
• Deep shade with lots of rich, dark soil?
  Forest species will thrive.
• Sparse woods with average soil?
  Savannah species will add color to the high
  shade.

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Prairies

• Six kinds in Missouri dry, mesic,
  wet, hill, sand and savannah.
• Characterized by grasses and wildflowers.
• Plants range from short to tall.
• Deep rooted plants catch and store moisture.
• Drought and flood resistant.
• Evolved with fire and grazing.

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Glades

• Sunny, dry, rocky, well-drained
  sites.
• Plants tend to be low-growing, compact, clinging,
  climbing, furry, succulent or spiny (to resist
  heat and store water!).
• Flowers are often brilliantly colored (because
  life on the rocks is hard and attracting
  pollinators is critical!)

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Wetlands

• Sunny or shady, organic soil wet much of the
  year.
• Dominated by grasses, sedges, and rushes,
  although they do have forbs, shrubs and trees.
• Cope well with flood or fire.

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Forests

• Can be high and dry with little undergrowth or
  low and moist with a lush undergrowth of shrubs
  and forbs.
• Soil tends to have lots of organic matter.
• Fire adapted.

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Get ready to plant!
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Prepare to Succeed

• Eliminate existing non-natives with a
  non-selective herbicide first. You may need two
  treatments.
• Hold the amendments! Overly rich soil will give
  you top-heavy plants.
• Plant any time you can work the soilfrom March
  through October for plants, November through
  February for seeds.

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Installation and Maintenance

• Short plants in front or on the edges and tall
  plants in the back or center of your design.
• Give em room! Your new plants will spread.
• Water well until a strong root system
  developsabout two months then hold the water.
  Established natives rarely need watering.
• Keep a shovel handy to divide or relocate.
• Shear asters and similar species for denser
  growth.
• Remove seed heads to reduce expansion of
  self-sowing species.

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Be Patient
deep roots take a while to develop. Youll be
richly rewarded with perennial hardiness in a
couple of growing seasons.
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I know wildlife will love my native plants, but
what about the neighbors?!
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Keep it positive!

• Check local ordinances.
• Plan ahead and use good design principles.
• Inform neighbors.
• Enlist local support.
• Take it easy.

Conventional Landscape
Well-designed Native Landscape
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www.for-wild.org

• The Wild Ones web site is a good place to learn
  about revising local weed ordinances
  to favor native plants.

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Points to Remember

• Missouris native plants evolved with local
  conditions and wildlifethats what makes them
  resilient and beneficial to the environment.
• Native plants can save you time and money, turn a
  problem into a benefit, extend seasonal interest
  and attract fascinating wildlife.
• You can use native plants in containers, borders,
  berms and for turf or meadows. You can also use
  them with non-natives.

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More Points

• Achieve your goals. Grow Native! landscape
  designs make it easy to choose and arrange the
  right native plants
• Work with nature! Use native plants found
  naturally in sites similar to your propertys
  growing conditions.
• Ensure long-term success. Eliminate competing
  vegetation dont amend or over water and clip,
  mow or burn to maintain neatness and vigor.
• Be patientdeep roots take time to develop!

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Grow Native! makes it easy to
put Missouris native plants to work on your home
landscape.
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Landscape guides for planning

• Recommended species
• Steps for establishment
• Where to find materials
• Where to get help
• What to expect

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Easyscapes?Seed Mixesa simple way to get started

• Four seed mixes based on native plant communities
  and wildlife needs.
• Available from participating Grow Native!
  retailers and service providers.

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www.grownative.org for more ideas
The new Plant Search feature helps you create
personal lists for planning, landscaping and
shopping.
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Plus qualified suppliers and services
This site is absolutely wonderful. . . I cant
get enough. It is truly the most helpful plant
and landscape site Ive ever seen (with)
information that I can really uselike
sources! -Carolyn C. Thanks for the supplier
recommendations! I used Find Suppliers to find
a GN! garden center near me.
-Pete
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A joint program of MDA and MDC, Grow Native!
helps you choose and use Missouris beautiful
native plants because we have a stake in your
success!www.grownative.org