Native Plants
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Tuesday - June 23, 2009
From: Asheville, NC
Region: Southeast
Topic: Erosion Control
Title: Native grass and/or wildflower seed mix for erosion control in North Carolina
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I'm looking for a native grass and/or wildflower seed mix to control erosion on a new mountain road in a pine forest (red clay dirt). The soil is dry and partly shaded, depending on the hour of the day.ANSWER:
Grasses are ideal for controlling erosion because of their extensive fibrous root systems. To find suitable grasses you can do your own search in our Native Plant Database using the COMBINATION SEARCH option and choosing North Carolina from the map or pull-down menu, 'Grass/Grass-like' from Habit (general appearance), 'Part shade' from Light requirement and 'Dry' from Soil moisture. This will give you a list of more than 20 grasses that meet most of the criteria for your site. As you look at each of the pages for the grasses, you can find a description of the soil that these grasses require under the heading of Growing Conditions. Here are some suggestions from that list:Eragrostis intermedia (plains lovegrass)
Muhlenbergia emersleyi (bullgrass)
Panicum virgatum (switchgrass)
Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem)
Sorghastrum nutans (Indiangrass)
Tridens flavus (purpletop tridens)
You can add various wildflowers to the mix by doing a similar search to the one above substituting 'Herb' for 'Grass/Grass-like' or you can go to our Recommended Species page and choose North Carolina from the map or pull-down menu to get a list of more than 130 commercially available native plants for landscaping in the state (this particular list doesn't include grasses). You can then use the NARROW YOUR SEARCH option to select for General Appearance, Light Requirement and Soil Moisture. Here are a few sugggestions for wildflowers from that list:
Achillea millefolium (common yarrow)
Coreopsis lanceolata (lanceleaf tickseed)
Monarda citriodora (lemon beebalm)
Rudbeckia hirta (blackeyed Susan)
More Erosion Control Questions
Plants for erosion control in horse pasture
April 26, 2010 - I have erosion on a slope, southwestern facing, minimal shade in Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA. The soil is rocky and clayish. The hillside is in the middle of a horse paddock and barn. What plants woul...
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Grasses for a pasture in Hays County, Texas with horses
March 20, 2015 - I intend to sow grass seed over a few acres of pasture on which I'll have a couple of horses in Driftwood, TX. I'd like to know what variety of seed(s) would be most beneficial to the land - and th...
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Getting rid of non-native, invasive English Ivy from Davidsonville MD
March 19, 2014 - Just moved and need to rid the well established Ivy planted on the steep slope area around the back and side of the house as it is taking over the bushes on the top and trees in forested area at botto...
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Ground cover for a slope in MD
August 04, 2011 - Looking for a groundcover to hold a shady slope undercut with tree roots in Maryland and to prevent further erosion.
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Native plants to preserve soil on river bank
May 28, 2006 - I live in eastern Massachusetts. We have a small stream in our backyard and a woodland area on the other side. Japanese Knotweed is pretty well established on the opposite bank of the stream from our ...
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