Resources
Creating a Wildflower Meadow
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The Trust’s
Wildflower Meadow Project
Check the progress of the meadow
It has been well documented that mowed lawn areas are typically a monoculture of non-native grasses, which require a great deal of time and resources to maintain and provide little benefit to wildlife. The Trust’s goal is to create a demonstration wildflower meadow in a designated area near our office headquarters to highlight a simple, attractive and sustainable planting alternative to a manicured lawn. The native grass and wildflower species will out-compete the weeds, making the wildflower meadow far less maintenance-intensive than pure lawn. In addition, the species that we have selected will provide cover and seeds for birds, provide nectar and food for butterflies, bees and other insects, and offer aesthetic diversity through their native colors and textures. Check the progress of our meadow.
Planting methods:
We sought our wildflower planting advice from the on-site land manager from Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve, Bill Lamack, who described to us the most cost-effective and efficient method of planting a wildflower meadow. Additionally, we also used the expertise of our recent intern, Tori Strange, who completed a wildflower meadow restoration at the Gwynedd Preserve owned by The Natural Lands Trust.
Based on our research, we have decided that creating a perennial meadow with both wildflowers and grasses would be the best option. Because perennial plants take hold more slowly, our meadow may require two or three years to fully establish. These plants have very deep root systems and spend their first year developing these root systems. During the second and third growing seasons, the plants extend their roots deeper and begin to grow and spread aboveground as well. By the third year, the meadow should be fully established and virtually maintenance-free, requiring only occasional weeding and mowing once each year.
After assessing our site for soil conditions and deer impact, we selected a variety of perennial wildflowers and grasses native to Pennsylvania. A list of the species we would like to plant follows this section. The best planting strategy to ensure successful establishment of the meadow is to buy landscape “plugs” (young plants) for all of the perennial flowers on our list and plant them directly into the ground. These “plugs” can be placed directly into existing turf grass by using a small hand trowel. The turf grass will act as a cover crop to discourage other weeds from coming into your new meadow. Native grasses can be incorporated into the plots by either spreading native grass seeds around the plots or by purchasing native grass plugs, which can be planted along with the wildflowers. The plots cannot be mowed for a period of one year in order to give the new plants time to establish their root systems. Over time, the native species will out-compete the turf grass species and this area will only require mowing annually, typically in late March to provide food and cover for over-wintering bird species.
We decided to start out with a manageable size, so we carefully selected two 20’ x 30’ plots in the northwestern portion of the WCT lawn. The general rule is to plant one plug per square foot so we ordered 1200 native plant plugs and the best time to plant the plugs is in April or early May.
Recommended Plant Lists:
Grass Species (Seed or plugs):
Andropogon virginicus Broomsedge
Bouteloua curtipendula Sideoats grama
Carex pennsylvanica Pennsylvania sedge
Deschampsia caespitosa Tufted hairgrass
Elymus virginicus Virginia wild rye
Schizachyrium scoparium Little bluestem
Wildflower Species (Plugs):
Aquilegia canadensis Wild Columbine
Asclepias tuberosa Butterflyweed
Asclepias incarnate Swamp Milkweed
Aster lateriflorus Calico aster
Aster nova-angliae New England Aster
Aster oblongifolius Aromatic aster
Aster laevis Smooth aster
Baptisia australis Wild blue false indigo
Coreopsis tripterus Tall coreopsis
Coreopsis verticillata Threadleaf coreopsis
Echinacea pupurea Purple coneflower * deer like this one!
Eupatorium hyssopifolium Hyssop leaved boneset
Eupatorium purpureum Sweet Joe-pye-weed
Eupatorium fistulosum Hollow-stemmed Joe-pye weed
Heliopsis helianthoides Ox-eye
Hibiscus coccenius Wild hibiscus
Liatris spicata Blazing star
Monarda fistulosa Wild bergamot
Oenothera fruticosa Southern Sundrops
Penstemon digitalis Beardtongue
Physostegia virginiana Obedient plant
Pycnanthemum muticum Short toothed mountain mint
Ratibida pinnata Gray-headed coneflower
Rudbeckia fulgida Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia laciniata Green-headed coneflower
Rudbeckia triloba Three-lobed coneflower/Black-eyed Susan
Silphium connatum Virginia cup plant
Solidago graminifolia Sweet Goldenrod
Solidago flexicaulis Zigzag Goldenrod
Solidago speciosa Showy goldenrod
Solidago rugosa Fireworks goldenrod
Solidago sempivirens Seaside goldenrod
Verbena strictaastata Hoary vervain
Vernonia noveboracensis New York Ironweed
Veronicastrum virginicum Culver’s root
Viola sororia Meadow violet
Local native plant nurseries that sell plugs at wholesale prices:
New Moon Nurseries www.newmoonnursery.com
North Creek Nurseries www.northcreeknurseries.com