The Seed A Publication of the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum A Focus on Wildflowers Celebrate Nebraska Wildflower Week the first week in June!

Inspired by a similar national event, the aim of Nebraska Wildflower Week is to increase awareness and appreciation of wildflowers and native plants in the wild and in the landscape through an array of events and activities across Nebraska. Nebraska Wildflower Week will be observed in early June. National Wildflower Week, which is coordinated by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Texas, is observed in early May. The Nebraska Statewide Arboretum (NSA) is serving as coordinator and Inside: clearing house for information for Nebraska Wildflower Week. “There will be tours of wildflower Nebraska’s Prairie Wildflowers displays at NSA sites, wildflower walks at state parks and natural areas, native The Prairie Lithospermums plant sales, wildflower art shows and Gardening with Prairie Plants all sorts of other activities,” says Bob Henrickson. For more information, go to By Bob Henrickson, Nebraska Statewide Arboretum Historical Uses of Wildflowers arboretum.unl.edu/wildflower. Why would anyone want to garden and landscape using prairie plants? Prai- Wildflower Week Proclamation ries, after all, cover vast areas, reaching “Part of the prairie mystique is from horizon to horizon, not across small Favorite Wildflowers the pure Americana embodied lot sizes in towns and cities. Won’t a natural prairie around my home look like in things that most people a weed patch and defy the old rule that Planting a Prairie have never seen before, and says a good neighbor should have a “per- will see nowhere else. Flowers fect” lawn. What exactly should a prairie landscape look like? How do I maintain Wildflowers for All Seasons with the old homespun names it? of rattlesnake master, blazing The idea of using prairie plants in the landscape is still new to many people Wildflower Viewing Roadways star, blacksamson, prairie and the number one concern is how a smoke, compass plant, butterfly prairie garden would fit into a well- Prairie Grasses for the Garden milkweed, wild indigo, windflower, manicured lawn neighborhood. Happily, I’ve learned I can coexist using a natural kittentails, spiderwort, Culver’s landscape look by simply providing a root, queen-of-the-prairie, mowed edge or a fence next to the prairie blue-eyed-grass, shooting star, so the casual observer knows that this is a planned landscape. Natives can also be catchfly, and many others, all used in a more formal setting by using Homestead National Monument near Beatrice and woven into the fabric of tall plants with a uniform habit and planting prairie coneflower, Ratibida columnifera. them in a formal, orderly design. grasses in a pioneer quilt of form Continued on page 6 and color.” John Madson Restless about Natives Jim Locklear, Nebraska Statewide Arboretum “anti-humanist” ideology in the Amer- what landscape architects call a sense ican native plant gardening movement of place. Native plants appeal to people It’s hard to imagine controversy sur- and wonders about parallels to the who are tired of landscapes that look like rounding something as wonderful as gar- nationalism and racism of a similar gar- every other place in the country. Using dening, but there is often heated debate dening movement in pre-World War II Nebraska natives allows you to bring a over the issue of native versus non-native Germany—a link between native plants regional character to your surroundings. plants. As noted horticulturist Michael and fascism? Thankfully, Nebraska has a wealth Dirr has written, “Friendships are solidi- While these matters are being debat- of beautiful, hardy native plants, partic- fied and shattered over native plants.” ed in the pages of horticultural publica- ularly wildflowers and grasses, which The battle lines are usually drawn tions, the average Nebraskan just wants make wonderful garden and landscape by folks who, for a number of different to know the best plants for their landscape. plants. Using them in the landscapes of reasons, feel native plants are the best The great advantage of our natives is our homes, businesses and communities choice for use in our cultivated land- that they are well-adapted to local growing is a way to capture the essence of the scapes. Most enthusiasts are content to conditions and require less water, fertilizer, prairies, woodlands and other natural simply inspire wider use of natives, but pesticides, etc. to grow and maintain. plant communities that give Nebraska its some take a more activist approach. A less practical but more stirring great beauty and unique character. So The rhetoric can get downright reason for the use of natives is that they celebrate living in Nebraska, but don’t goofy. One New York writer sees an reflect a sense of the natural landscape— get goofy about it. arboretum.unl.edu Nebraska’s Prairie Wildflowers

By Bill Whitney, Prairie Plains Resource Institute Here are just a few ideas: There are plenty of challenging and Over the past three decades many rewarding possibilities for people who Nebraskans have awakened to the beauty have an interest in restoring prairies and utility of native wildflowers. Many and wetlands since there is much factors are responsible. The Nebraska more to be learned about establishing, Game and Parks Commission and propagating and producing native plant Fontenelle Forest Nature Center in seed. This is especially true of some Bellevue have published excellent color of the less common species that do not photo guides of wildflowers. Conserva- produce much seed. In addition, there tion organizations, government agencies is potential to develop commercial seed and individual landowners have devel- and seedling production activities to oped a growing interest in preserving Plains coreopsis (above); make prairie and wildflower plantings prairie in Red Willow county; prairie remnants and restoring native more readily accessible to more people gayfeather and prairie coneflower prairies, rangelands and wetlands. Outdoor over a larger geographic area. Increased (top right). education activities that never existed prior entrepreneurial activity in the future to 1980 have begun to educate people of would be beneficial for the consumer. It all ages about Nebraska’s natural history. would increase the overall market for In addition, native plant landscaping, seed wildflower related things and, over time, we do further cultivates our awareness and nursery businesses have begun offering has the potential to create many new jobs. of place. I would encourage people to and promoting more wildflowers. Because Much has been done in native learn and teach others about wildflowers of all these changes, people can now find wildflower horticulture in Nebraska. by visiting the places where they occur. information as well as plant materials for Recent efforts by the University of This can be done any time during the many of their own projects—something Nebraska and the Nebraska Statewide growing season on the many prairie that was either difficult or impossible in the Arboretum attest to this fact. Their preserves and public wildlife areas across past. pioneering use and promotion of grasses the state. The species in bloom vary with Despite all the progress, however, and wildflowers in urban settings has the season, from pasqueflower on the there is always more that can be done. added a distinctively regional aesthetic northeast Nebraska prairies in May, to to the landscape, bringing attention to prairie clovers and purple coneflowers in the various colors, textures and seasonal the eastern tallgrass prairies, to the many changes of this region’s flora. At a more species of goldenrods and sunflowers personal level, the home gardener can occurring statewide. always find new ways to develop and apply Prairie Plains Resource Institute is the art of native wildflower landscaping in one of many groups with special places to new ways and situations. With the current visit for appreciating wildflowers. Below wealth of native plant information and are four areas in east-central Nebraska to plant materials, the sky is the limit. In the visit, several of them offering Wildflower future, I’d like to see more commercial Week tours (see events on back cover). landscapes incorporate wildflowers into Call 402/694‑5535 or email ppri@ their plantings—adding a little more hamilton.net for more information. diversity and beauty into oftentimes bland Ratzlaff Prairie, southwest of settings. Henderson, Nebraska, is a great place to My favorite recommendation see prairie violets or rough rattlesnake regarding wildflowers concerns root, two of many wildflower species enjoyment and education. We can’t do there. too much in these pursuits, and anything The Frank L. and Lillian Pokorny Memorial Prairie north of Schuyler contains 20 acres each of virgin tallgrass prairie and prairie restoration. Here one The Prairie Lithospermums can see prairie sunflowers, rosinweed, lots of compass plant and leadplant, to By Harlan Hamernik, Bluebird Nursery, Inc. of a showy soft, deep orange in early name but a few. spring, on stems 12-16” tall. This is an Some of the Great Plains’ more The Olson Nature Preserve in excellent choice for the rock garden or outstanding perennial wildflowers are northern Boone County is a community for naturalizing in well-drained sandy or in the genus Lithospermum. Litho is educational resource of exceptional rocky sites. Greek for stone and spermum is Greek scenic and natural beauty. Here one The third important puccoon in the for seed. You may more easily recognize can experience the wildflowers of the middle states is Lithospermum incisum, its common name, puccoon, which is an Nebraska sandhills such as four-point the fringed puccoon, which stands out American Indian name for dye plants. evening primrose, flax, hairy puccoon in the sandy prairies with its soft yellow, Various yellow, red and purple stains and bladderpod, as well as some special frilly flowers displayed in head-like were made by boiling the different wetland wildflowers and marsh plants clusters over interesting narrow leafed plant parts in water along with beads, such as swamp milkweed, Joe-pye weed, foliage. porcupine quills and other objects to be sweetflag and bur reed. Don’t, don’t rush to the nearest colored. These dyes were also used for On the Griffith Prairie northwest garden center to pick up these incredible face and body paints. Melvin Gilmore, of Aurora, in addition to gorgeous bluff wildflowers! They are rarely available, in “The Uses of Plants by Indians of topography and the Platte River, one mainly because they are difficult to the Missouri River Region,” reported can see upland blue-eyed grass, ragwort, propagate from seeds or cuttings, and that Omaha-Ponca children chewed silver scurf pea, blazing star and showy they don’t move as bareroot plants, roots with the gummy resin of Silphium vetchling, to name just a few. either. If you are fortunate to collect laciniatum (compass plant) to make red Other sites offer great native some of the stone-like, polished whitish gum and the flower parts to make yellow wildflower opportunities too, such as seeds before birds and rodents find gum. When I was a child, I used to chew Wachiska Audubon’s many prairies in them, plant them in a drier, well-drained the same gum during the small grain eastern Nebraska, Nebraska Audubon’s permanent site and be prepared to wait a harvest, and look what it did to me! Spring Creek Prairie near Denton, year or two for germination and another In my opinion, the most beautiful Bauermeister Prairie next to Zorinsky year for flowers. of these prairie gems is Lithospermum Lake (Papio NRD) in west Omaha and In the meantime, enjoy them in drier carolinense, the Carolina puccoon; Ninemile Prairie near Lincoln. Native sandy prairie sites during late May and June however it does need a deep well-drained vegetation is more common as one along with other Great Plains wildflowers gravely site to make it happy enough travels west, with public areas such as resplendent in color and fragrance. to make a bushel+ size mound covered Halsey Forest in the Sandhills and Fort with nearly 1” rich, deep yellow flowers Robinson near Crawford offering great during the last half of May and most chances to see wildflowers up close. of June. The name indicates that it was My real message, though, is to probably named in one of the Carolinas, encourage exploration of your own area. most likely North Carolina. Find places nearby that have a variety of An attractive cousin, Lithospermum native plants, learn about the place and canescens (its leaves have a gray or its plants and then enjoy them—enjoy whitish pubescens), is commonly the beauty, the history, the lore and the called hoary (canescent) puccoon. It sharing with others. That’s what it’s all produces loads of five-petaled blooms about. Historical Uses of Prairie Wildflowers

By Becky Seth, Naturalist, Pioneers Park Nature Center compete with the cattail as “nature’s grocery store.” It is, of course, an I find it fascinating to consider the important food source for the monarch process by which humans learned to use butterfly. The milkweed’s somewhat the plants that grew around them. The toxic latex sap makes the monarch wisdom handed down from generation unpalatable to predators. So it is to generation was born of necessity, and somewhat surprising that the shoots, must certainly have taken more than one buds, flowers and young seedpods are all fatal turn. How did people learn that edible if cooked first. Milkweed flower one plant was good to eat, and another fritters are an annual mid-summer treat that looked very similar was deadly? at the Nature Center. The fibers in the How did they find that a specific part stems can be used to make rope and of a plant, and not another, could ease the seed’s silken parachutes as stuffing or cure disease? That wisdom has material for clothing and quilts. largely been lost for most of us. As we In June, a blanket of the bright increasingly turn to native wildflowers rose blooms of purple poppy mallow, for their beauty and drought resistance, Callirhoe involucrata, rising above it is interesting to note their historic attractive, deeply divided leaves is a usefulness as well. stunning sight. The flowers make an One of my favorite prairie plants equally bold statement on a salad. The is leadplant, Amorpha canescens. A roots served as a boiled vegetable for perennial shrub with attractive grayish- both Plains Indians and settlers. The green foliage, its lavender flowers reward Teton Dakota treated head colds with close inspection with their contrasting smoke from the dried, burning roots. yellow-orange stamens. The leaves, The pink-to-purple petals of wild gathered in late summer and dried, make bergamot, Monarda fistulosa, are also a delicious tea. Both Plains Indians and edible. Plants of this native bee-balm settlers used the plant in this way and may have a minty or a lemon-rose scent. both had descriptive common names for Minty leaves were used as seasoning it. The Omaha-Ponca called it “buffalo while the lemon-rose leaves and flowers bellow plant” since it blooms during were rubbed on the body as perfume, put the bison rutting season when the bulls in sachets and brewed for tea. The tea bellow. The settlers called it “devil’s was found helpful for treating colds or shoestring” because the extensive, tough abdominal pain, and boiled leaves were root system made plowing difficult and applied externally to relieve acne and popped when cut. fevers. I enjoy planting leadplant alongside The medicinal properties of purple butterfly milkweed,Asclepias tuberosa. coneflower, or Echinacea, are well Their bloom times overlap and the known. While we think of it primarily as brilliant orange of this milkweed seems a tea to boost the immune system, Plains to remind my eye to notice the stamens Indians used it as a topical anesthetic for Pioneers Park Nature of the leadplant. Besides attracting toothache and burns. The spiky seedhead Center prairie (top); butterflies, this milkweed’s root was used was used to comb children’s hair—with leadplant in bloom with in various ways to treat a large range care, I suspect. The Echinacea native to close-up of foliage inset; of medical problems including diseases milkweed in flower this area, E. angustifolia, is less showy of the lungs, which explains one of its (bottom). than the E. purpurea used extensively in common names, “pleurisy root.” our gardens. Although some of the other White sagewort, Artemisia milkweeds may be considered more ludoviciana, can be invasive in the desirable for the average gardener, the garden, but dries beautifully for winter lowly common milkweed, Asclepias bouquets. I especially like it with syriaca, has enough uses that it could the red seedheads of smooth sumac.

Plains Indians used white sagewort for both medicinal and religious purposes “The milk plant is very burning it in bunches as incense. It was sometimes used as a towel. Among odoriferous. The natives settlers, it was occasionally used to prepare a hair rinse to prevent baldness. make a sugar of the As we enjoy the beauty of Nebraska wildflowers, it is fascinating to learn a bit about their historic uses and the folklore flowers, gathering them surrounding them. The Prairie Legacy WHEREAS, prairies, woodlands and other natural plant and Wild Tea Gardens at Pioneers Park in the morning when they communities are essential to the ecological health Nature Center, a Nebraska Statewide of Nebraska, and give the land its great beauty and Arboretum affiliate, feature these and are covered with dew, and unique character, and many more wildflowers and shrubs that were utilized by Plains Indians and collect the cotton from WHEREAS, Nebraska is rich in wildflowers, grasses, trees early settlers in various ways. These and other native plants with beauty and hardiness gardens have accompanying brochures that commends their use for landscaping homes, with more information. Open daily with the pods to fill their beds. businesses and community green space. free admission, we invite you to visit our gardens, and the hiking trails that They eat the tender shoots NOW, THEREFORE, I Dave Heineman, Governor of the State of Nebraska, wind through our 668 acres of prairie, DO HEREBY PROCLAIM the first week of June, as wetlands and woodlands. in the spring, as we do NEBRASKA WILDFLOWER WEEK, and I do hereby urge all citizens to participate in asparagus.” events and activities during Nebraska Wildflower Week that foster understanding, enjoyment and Lieutenant John C. Fremont conservation of Nebraska’s wildflowers and other native plants. Favorite Wildflowers

“There is no way I could pick just one My favorite wildflower is Barr’s wildflower as a favorite. Each is special milkvetch, Red orophaca, Astragalus in its own way, especially when you barrii Barneby. consider how it evolved to prosper in These tough little cushion-plants are its own niche in the world. And not confined to badlands buttes and gumbo just the showy, spectacular flowers are flats out here in the High Plains, as appealing. Who isn’t captivated by the though they are on small islands in vast inconspicuous flowers of fog-fruit, if for seas of short-grass. The species is no other reason than its charming name. a High Plains endemic, hanging on but But when I think back to the three-year doing well in these places, just as its hunt for wildflowers to photograph for discoverer, Claude Barr, himself did. He the Wildflowers of Nebraska field guide was a very special person and he and I wouldn’t hesitate to name two that his namesake are two of a kind. Neither were most memorable. Early on a foggy should be forgotten. morning on July 7, 1989 I found myself Ron Weedon, Curator of the High Plains in a meadow on Hay Creek northwest Herbarium at Chadron State College of Cody, only a few miles from South Dakota, surrounded by the neon-bright, red-orange blossoms of western red lilies “My hands-down favorite is Pulsatilla and nodding plumes of cottongrass. Two patens, in its native environment in Western red lily and Turk’s cap lily days later I photographed the spectacular the hills, and in the garden. I love (above and below, blooms of the Turk’s cap lily in the Baptisia australis, including its small NEBRASKAland Magazine/ Elkhorn River valley north of Scribner. It relative, Baptisia minor, for the stalwart, Nebraska Game and Parks was a grand slam of Nebraska’s showiest shrublike habit, striking flowers, and Commission photos by silvery-black winter appearance—and Jon Farrar from his book wild lilies.” Wildflowers of Nebraska and Jon Farrar, Author of Wildflowers of Nebraska it handles the shade, which is a surprise the Great Plains.) and the Great Plains and Senior Editor, to many people. While all the asters NEBRASKAland Magazine are favorites, butterfly magnets that they are, I am intrigued by Aster Penstemon and Barr’s milkvetch (bottom). ptarmicoides—earlier blooming, stronger foliage, smaller stature. Joepye weed is another favorite—what is not to like “I’m a little prejudiced toward the about something that rises to six feet penstemons not only because of their and blooms in purple clouds? I consider beauty but also because I have the New Jersey tea an awesome plant; pleasure to work with them. There another of shrublike proportions, with is such a great variety of types and beautiful red seedheads contrasting with sizes and colors and they’re constantly white flowers and green foliage on the changing throughout the season. same plant at the same time. I wish I Husker Red is one of my favorites as had the room and the sun for compass well as Penstemon grandiflorus. Like plant—that bold texture, the truly many people, I associate my favorite functional nature of those leaves, and the wildflowers with people I have met. In strong flowers. Coming from eastern my work with wildflowers I’ve met a Iowa, I have to include Mayapple on the lot of really great people, people who list, especially since it wants to colonize have a passion for wildflowers. Since even in heavier soils. Add our native I’m a native of Nebraska, I feel a special columbine to that list as well. And the connection to our native plants.” bitty pussytoes, encountered in the most Dale Lindgren, native son and unlikely and desolate of places in its Professor of Horticulture native haunts, has made itself perfectly at home in the brick sidewalk. Here’s the problem—I like them ALL!!!” I was converted to wildflowers as a Right now (mid-April), my favorite Kim Todd, Assistant Professor, horticulture undergraduate in Richard is bluebells, the Mertensias that are in Agronomy & Horticulture Sutton’s landscape plants class at bloom. They do well in dark shade. UNL decades ago. These native plants They’re fun in that they die down in astonished me—farm girl/city transplant early May. Mine are growing under a “The prairies and hills are very dear attempting to tame an acre of former cottonwood tree. I love to sit under a to me. I worked in Georgia for many pastureland on the northern edge of cottonwood tree so I have my furniture years and am happy to be back in Lincoln. So much, in fact, that my under one, but in early March I move the Nebraska. Echinacea angustifolia yard has twice received weed notices furniture out and let the bluebells take is one of my favorites. It’s such a (tall natives in city right-of-way) along over. They make a solid blue mass. I’ll survivor. As a cut flower it lasts for with the Mayor’s Water Landscape move my furniture back in when they die weeks. Ethnobotanically, it was called Conservation Award (1994). Also, for down. toothache plant. It can really numb a years I worked as a horticulturist/grounds In early June I have Mexican hats tooth, I’ve tried it! It was important to manager/arboretum curator on a college that I love, a pure yellow one and a the Lakota medicinally, and throughout campus, and the last thing I wanted to yellow one with an orange hat. They’re the pre-settlement and settlement period do evenings and weekends was fuss with just opposite the bluebells in that they in Nebraska. plantings at home. By now my yard is a like hot, dry spots. They get maybe 2’ Rudbeckia triloba is another low-maintenance (unirrigated/unsprayed) tall, and on those tall stems they look favorite. My grandmother had it around haven for insects, birds and wildlife, with just like those pictures of people you see her sod house in Loup County. I carried a diversity of wildflowers, native grasses, with big Mexican sombreros. Mine are seed with me to Georgia and brought trees and shrubs. Oh, I guess we have a growing out in the parkway. it with me when I came back. It’s very few mowed areas, too. I have a lot of wildflowers, but my adaptable, it can take heat, humidity and It’s hard to limit it, but my very favorite are butterfly milkweeds. dry wind and, like many prairie plants, favorite wildflowers/native grasses Seedheads of butterfly milkweed, one of Gladys They’re bright orange and you can’t offers late summer bloom. Goldfinches in my yard are Amorpha canescens, Jeurink’s perennial favorites. miss them. I always have as many in like the seed. It’s an annual but once leadplant; Andropogon gerardii, my garden as I can. There are some established, tends to self-sow. In March, big bluestem; Asclepias tuberosa, new seed ones but I go for the old weed. I break off the seedheads and scatter butterfly milkweed;Baptisia , wild They’re fun in that they form these great them and they come up wherever the indigo; Bouteloua curtipendula, side- seedheads. If you cut down the slit, the seed touches soil. oats grama; Echinacea purpurea, seeds are there and they form the head of Saponaria or bouncing bet was purple coneflower;Liatris , gayfeather; the ‘baby’ with the ‘parachutes’ forming almost always included in early Monarda, beebalm; Pulsatilla patens, the blanket around it. We used to play Nebraska gardens. It’s very tough, can pasque flower; Rudbeckia hirta, black- with them when we were kids; we would survive drought and minus 30° winters. eyed Susan; Schizachyrium scoparium, have a whole bunch of ‘babies’! One of the things I like about it is that it’s little bluestem; Solidago, goldenrod; Gladys Jeurink, long-time Master Gardener a dusk-bloomer, so when I get off work Tradescantia, spiderwort. (see Gladys’ flowers on “Backyard Farmer”) at 6 p.m. or so it still looks bright and Twyla Hansen, horticulturist and poet-at-large fresh no matter how hot it is.” Lucinda Mays, Chadron State College Planting a Prairie

By Ion Exchange Native Seed & Plant Nursery, slowly. Broadcast the second half at a www.ionxchange.com perpendicular angle to the first seeding. Lightly rake the grass seed into the soil. Prairies thrive in sunny, open areas. Wildflower seed should be broadcast When selecting a site, look for areas last and can be spread evenly or with maximum sun exposure and lack of concentrated in bands or swaths across competition. Trees, especially those with your prairie area. Much of this seed a high surface root density like maple is quite small. Spreading it thinly will and basswood, shade out prairie species produce the best results. Do not rake in and compete for soil nutrients and water. the flower seeds. Watering at this point Spruce and most other conifers are not is helpful but not necessary. good in prairies. If you are including potted seedlings Site Preparation in your prairie landscape, these should be added after seeding. Seedlings can The amount of ground preparation be planted throughout the site or in needed depends on what is growing on designated areas of the project. Ideally, your site. The primary objective is to natural rainfall will provide enough clear the site of existing vegetation. If you water, but dry weather during the first June and mid-August. The height and are starting with a clear site, simply rake 10 days may necessitate supplemental density of the weed cover should help the open soil lightly. This improves the watering. determine if and when to mow. In areas condition of the seed bed, giving seeds a where weeds are especially dominant, better chance to germinate and grow. Mulching and Maintenance the advantages of cutting the weeds and Seeds broadcast into existing While mulching is not required, it does preventing them from setting seed offset vegetation have relatively little chance of provide some erosion control and aids in any disadvantages of cutting prairie success. If weeds, turf or other vegetation soil moisture retention. Mulch lightly (soil plants. Spot spraying might still be currently exist on your site, they will visible through mulch) with clean oat or necessary this year. need to be eliminated. The most effective wheat straw. Make sure not to use hay, Year Three way to clear the site is with a Glyphosate because it contains seeds you do not want herbicide such as Roundup. Because to introduce to your area. Cover crops of By the third year (and in the years it is a non-residual, contact herbicide, oats or wheat can also be used to reduce to follow) your patience will begin to Roundup does not continue its herbicidal erosion and discourage competitive weeds pay off. Both grasses and flowers will activity in the soil. Be sure to follow all the first year. be mature, providing beautiful, low- label directions. A prairie landscape takes time maintenance returns. One cutting per year Allow 10 to 21 days after herbicide to develop, requiring patience and can be used as a clean-up procedure. The application before disturbing the careful management the first few best time to cut off old prairie vegetation vegetation with other procedures. If years. However, if your prairie was is in early May or late November (after the existing vegetation was tall and/or planted correctly and you follow these you’ve enjoyed the gold, lavender, russets dense it will be necessary to remove the maintenance instructions, your prairie and maroons of an autumn prairie). In dead plant material. It can be burned off will mature into a unique, self-sustaining areas where prairie plants were especially Restored prairie at Lincoln Creek Prairie near or it can be mowed and then mulched natural landscape. tall and dense, mulch or rake away the Aurora (top photo courtesy of Bill Whitney, Prairie or raked away. To create a seed bed of dead plant material. Plains Resource Institute). Butterfly milkweed freshly worked soil, rototill the area to a Year One Fire is another method of removing brightens the landscape. depth of 1 to 4”. Most prairie plants are perennials. old prairie thatch. In natural prairie At this point, you can rake the soil to Although perennial seeds will germinate ecosystems, fire not only gets rid of create a smooth, firm seed bed. However, the first year, the young seedlings’ root accumulated thatch, it also helps reduce weed seeds frequently lie dormant growth will be two to three times their woody plant invasion and stimulates beneath the soil surface and germinate above-ground growth, and they may not the growth of many native grasses and after they have been exposed. If your flower until the second or third year. wildflowers. Rotation between prescribed area was initially densely populated with While this lack of visual growth can be burns and cutting is ideal for prairies and weeds, especially problem weeds such frustrating, keep in mind that it is the savannas. Keep in mind that a controlled as quack grass, thistle, leafy spurge or strong root system of prairie perennials burn is a useful maintenance tool, but sweet clover, we recommend you repeat which enables them to be nearly requires some expertise. Be certain the spray/till process to further eliminate maintenance-free at maturity. to check local regulations and permit these weeds before planting. After the During this early stage of growth, procedures and, when burning, always first tilling, allow the weed seeds to weeds will take advantage of the lack of use caution. germinate and begin growing. Then above-ground vegetation and appear on repeat the spraying and tilling process your site. To minimize the effects of tall as described above. This second round weeds shading prairie seedlings and to is optional, but does produce a cleaner prevent these weeds from setting seed, seed bed. Finally, rake the soil to create a you should plan to cut your planting smooth, firm seed bed. one, two or even three times during its Seeding and Planting Dates first growing season. This is generally done on 30-day intervals using a scythe, Prairie seed can be planted in the mower or line trimmer. Scything is often spring or fall. The best time to seed in best, as the cutting height should be kept Iowa is from spring thaw through early between 5-8”. Mowing is also effective, August. In the fall, seeding can take but it is important to keep the blade set place from September 20 through freeze- as high as possible. Hand weeding is also up. On prepared seed beds on sites with useful during the first growing season, little competition, winter seeding can especially to remove individual noxious also be effective. weeds. These and invading woody Potted seedlings can be planted plants may have to be treated with spot anytime from spring thaw to freeze-up, spraying. At no time should fertilizers although those planted in mid-summer be used. Prairie plants are well-adapted may require supplemental watering. to their environment and do not need Seeding or Planting fertilization. This expensive, time- consuming and often environmentally Hand broadcasting is the simplest unfriendly procedure is not only and most reliable method of seeding. unnecessary on a natural landscape but Adjustable hand-held spreaders may is detrimental because it can encourage work with the grass seed although they weeds and other undesirable vegetation. tend to get plugged. Wildflower seed should always be hand broadcast. Year two The key to a successful seeding is During the second season, residual seed-to-soil contact. Soil contact helps seeds from the first season will germinate the seeds retain moisture, which is and some of the faster-growing native necessary for germination, and provides plants will flower and produce seed. a substrate for seedling growth. Spread There might still, however, be a need grass seed first. To ensure even coverage, for weed control and one mowing might divide the seed in half and broadcast be necessary sometime between mid- the first half over the entire area. Work Gardening with Prairie continued from cover Before I decided on prairie garden- ing I learned that there are many kinds of prairie, each with its own unique wildflowers and grasses. Prairie can be tallgrass, shortgrass, mixed grass, dry, wet, savanna, upland, rocky or sandy, to name a few. A prairie garden is simply a portrait of the vast prairie landscape. Which one is right for you? There is no prairie without grasses For me, gardening with prairie plants started while working for the UNL Botanical Gardens & Arboreta in the mid to late 80s. We planted a combination of little bluestem, sideoats grama, blue grama and prairie dropseed in the dread- ed “heat strips” of parking medians to see if they would be a better choice than creeping junipers for these areas. The plants thrived and now some 20 years later there are still remnants of grasses There are lots of wonderful wildflowers to choose from; here prairie and purple coneflower and beebalm remaining in these areas despite repeated contrast and complement. construction projects nearby. To this day I still recommend this grass combination areas and overgrazed pastures, where for the uniform, tufted habit, fine-tex- ers, describing a prairie sunrise as “an iri- the prairie grasses aren’t there anymore ture, attractive seedheads and reliable descent glow as beautiful and wondrous to keep them in check. The competition winter color. In the prairie these grasses beyond anything I had ever conceived.” between plants for space, nutrients, water Grasses are the mainstay of the prairie put down roots up to 5’ deep, so you can I’ve always had a warm place in my garden, whether at home in the garden and light is gone and cattle ignore eating imagine water is always within reach for heart for the prairie pioneers who carved or in natural areas these plants, so they spread like crazy. these tough dudes. out the history of Nebraska before our (below, Fort Robinson State Park). I’ve grown both of them in the garden Soon I was planting wildflowers on border was drawn. I choose to plant a and they do seed, but with competition campus to complement the grasses and Nebraska wildflower because its history from grasses they can be held in check. create more of a prairie look and feel. I is here on the Plains, like my ancestors. Dr. Weaver found over 200 individual planted sundrops (Oenothera missourien- The same butterfly milkweed I admire plants per square yard in a tallgrass sis), winecups (Callirhoe involucrata), was looked on with fondness and admira- prairie near Lincoln! I’m amazed that, pale purple coneflower Echinacea( pal- tion by the folks that traveled through or despite intense competition, prairie “The valley of the north lida), dotted gayfeather (Liatris puncta- settled here. plants all seem to get along. Would you ta) and the prairie coneflowers Ratibida( fork is without timber; Preparing a Planting Bed plant over 200 plugs in a square yard and species) to name a few and it didn’t take hope they all got along? long for me to get hooked on natives. I live in an area where prairie once but the grasses are fine, I’ve chosen some of the best sun- Over the years I have grown many existed, so it makes sense to convert to loving wildflowers for the garden using and the herbaceous different prairie wildflowers and still a prairie garden with plants suited to the following prairie models. There have to remind myself that there is no climate and temperature extremes. A are many more to choose from but this plants abundant... the “prairie look” without grasses. Dr. John prairie landscape requires none of the represents plants that are readily avail- Weaver, the famous prairie ecologist water needed for conventional lawns whole country resembled able through local sources or mail order from UNL, found over 90 percent of and usually eliminates the need for nurseries. a vast garden.” the foliage in some prairies to be big chemicals on weeds and insect pests. But bluestem. I once had a garden with over the well-drained prairie soils that once Tallgrass Prairie Garden 100 species of wildflowers, with a small supported the plants have been forever A tallgrass prairie garden, neither sample of grasses mixed in. My prairie altered— plowed, scraped, terraced and too wet nor too dry (though many of “For a short distance, flower garden looked great for a number eroded away—to leave most of us with these plants can tolerate overwatering of years, but the aggressive wildflowers dense, heavy urban subsoil. For many our road lay down the and drought), can reach 5-6’ high and were slowly taking over the slower grow- prairie plants to thrive, especially dryland is typically used in larger areas or as a ing forbs. It started to look like a weed species, I’ve learned that soil preparation valley of the Platte, backdrop planting. Big bluestem and patch dominated by pitcher sage, New is essential. indiangrass should always be present in which resembled a England Aster and Canada goldenrod. Weeds are best eradicated before planting or sowing, because they out- this garden, along with switchgrass. To garden in the splendor What is native to you? compete slow-growing prairie seedlings prevent lodging or floppy stems, avoid shady conditions and only water during I don’t consider myself a “prairie and shade them too. Smothering is a of fields of varied times of drought. These warm season purist” when it comes to choosing plants popular technique for small areas of grasses take awhile to green up in the for my pocket prairie. I know some folks bluegrass, fescue and weeds. First cut the flowers, which fill the air spring so plant cool season grasses like figure as long as the plant is native to grass or weeds very short, then lay down Canada wildrye (Elymus canadensis) with fragrance.” North America and it can grow in the a layer of clear plastic for up to 45 days or a native sedge, like fescue or prai- wild on its own, that’s all that matters. I to smother and cook them. You can also rie sedge (Carex bicknellii or brevior). like to think of my choices as “region- lay down layers of newspaper (at least These tufted grasses are green as soon ally native” to the Great Plains. What if 10 sheets) over aggressive weeds. Spread Lieutenant John C. as temperatures rise above freezing, com- Nebraska’s borders were drawn verti- 4-6” of a sand/compost mix on top of the peting for space with cool-season weeds cally so that Pierre, SD and Manhattan, paper. Plant plugs and seeds directly into Fremont like henbit and dandelions. If possible, KS were part of our state? Plants don’t this mixture. You can also use the least enrich the soil for your tallgrass prairie draw borders, people do. Moreover, drive toxic, shortest-lived herbicides on peren- garden by incorporating a few inches of seven hours west of Lincoln and you’re nial and annual weeds that are unfazed compost. in Scottsbluff and seven hours east and by hand-weeding. you’re at the Mississippi River near Designing Your Prairie Garden  Mat-forming groundcovers bloom Dubuque, Iowa. Do I plant a seed that in early spring, covering the soil came from Ames, IA or do I plant the There is no right way to design a to compete with spring weeds but true “native” from Scottsbluff county? prairie garden. I have tried well over tolerating shade from tall grasses in The only thing that matters to me is the 100 different species because I like to summer. My favorites include pussy- habitat and climate in which they grow. collect plants, but not all of them make toes (Antennaria neglecta) for dry I will gladly grow a marsh gayfeather good garden choices. Growing up, I even sites and wild strawberry (Fragaria (Liatris spicata) that came from an Iowa thought the plants growing in the road virginiana), bracted spiderwort source in a moist site and a western ditch were a part of the prairie. Okay, (Tradescantia bracteata) and mead- wallflower (Erysium umbellatum) from I’ll admit I didn’t know what a virgin ow anemone (Anemone canadensis) the Nebraska Panhandle in a dry, raised prairie was. I grew up in corn country for moist sites. They spread, so let garden. A reasonable approach for home where the pastures were smooth brome them fight it out between clumps of gardeners is simply to use whatever and the wildflowers were chicory, crown grasses. prairie plants can be found; though for vetch and bird’s foot trefoil. To me these  restoration plantings every effort should European imports were our wildflowers Spring flowers for moist sites: wild be made to collect and preserve the ge- even though I didn’t know their names at columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), netic diversity of the local species. the time. golden Alexander (Zizia aurea) and Most of the native prairie plants I do remember ironweed (Vernonia prairie phlox (Phlox pilosa). fasciculata) and hoary vervain (Verbena were a victim of the plow. Today we can  hastata) and always thought of them Summer/fall favorites for dry only imagine the beauty of the prairie tallgrass prairie: white wild indigo as seen by our ancestors. Pioneers were as weeds, even after I learned they are native. I learned they thrive in disturbed (Baptisia lactea), pale purple cone- stunned by this world of grass and flow- flower (Echinacea pallida), Ohio spiderwort (Tradescantia ohioensis), plants. Some take advantage and seed lance-leaf coreopsis (Coreopsis into open spaces and others spread even lanceolata), winecups (Callirhoe when given intense competition: Maxi- involucrata), prairie coneflower millian sunflower, sawtooth sunflower, (Ratibida pinnata), wild bergamot Jerusalem artichoke, false sunflower (Monarda fistulosa), rattlesnake (Heliopsis helianthoides), cup plant (Sil- master (Eryngium yuccafolium), phium perfoliatum), meadow anemone butterfly milkweed Asclepias( (Anemone canadensis), Canada golden- tuberosa), leadplant (Amorpha ca- rod (Solidago canadensis), New England nescens), dotted gayfeather (Liatris aster (Aster novae angliae) and ironweed punctata), showy goldenrod (Solida- (Vernonia fasciculata). go speciosa), roundheaded lespedeza Short-Lived Prairie Plants (Lespedeza capitata) and smooth for Re-Seeding aster (Aster laevis). These wildflowers are nice additions  Summer/fall choices for irrigated to the prairie garden and although they tallgrass prairie sites: queen of the are short-lived (1-3 years) they should meadow (Filipendula venusta), still be included in your design. These culver’s root (Veronicastrum virgini- beauties perpetuate in the garden by re- cum), swamp milkweed (Asclepias seeding themselves. You can gather seed incarnata), thickspike gayfeather and sow it where you want or let them (Liatris pycnostachya), Joe-pye seed out on their own for an unpredict- weed (Eupatorium purpureum), New able garden, just like a real prairie. The England aster (Aster novi-angliae), following plants are all dryland species elm-leaf goldenrod (Solidago ulmi- best sited in well-drained soils. They folia) and Helen’s flower (Helenium love seeding in gravel mulch! autumnale). Here are some good combinations: Dryland Prairie Garden  Brown-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia trilo- Upland prairies are always well- ba) with sand lovegrass (Eragrostis drained and are the driest prairies in this trichoides) area. Upland prairie plants are usually  Wild larkspur (Delphinium vire- knee-high or less. This garden should scens) with lance-leaf coreopsis have a base planting of little bluestem (Coreopsis grandiflora) (Schizachrium scoparium), sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula), prairie  Prairie Junegrass (Koelteria pyrami- dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis) with data) with prairie ragwort (Senecio an understory of blue grama (Bouteloua plattensis) and pale penstemon gracilis). Cool season grasses such as (Penstemon albidus) needlegrass and prairie junegrass should  also be considered. When planning a Shell-leaf penstemon (Penstemon border using plants native to dryland grandiflorus) with whorled milk- or rocky soils it is essential to improve weed (Asclepias verticillata the drainage of your site by raising the  For the western Great Plains, try Rudbeckia with larkspur; a sea of prairie larkspur; soil above the original grade. I use half western wallflower (Erysimum um- and pathway into Toadstool National Monument in topsoil or other organic soil and half bellatum) with narrowleaf puccoon western Nebraska. gritty mix of gravel and sand and a light (Lithospermum incisum) and pasque layer of gravel mulch for topdressing on flower (Pulsatilla patens). my dryland garden to provide a nice, uni- form cover. Xeric plants like to reseed in this mulch and young weeds come out readily by hoeing just under the mulch. Wood chips hold too much moisture and Nebraska ‘s Top Ten Wildflower Viewing Roadways they can also cause rot. Nebraska Department of Roads website,www.nebraskatransportation.org/docs/flowers/  Early spring-blooming gems 1—Highway 2 from Grand Island to Alliance include: pasque flower Pulsatilla( patens), gumbo lily (Oenothera 2—Highway 20 from Valentine to Chadron caespitosa), prairie smoke (Geum triflorum), pussytoes (Antennaria 3—Highway 83 from North Platte to McCook neglecta), narrow-leaf puccoon 4—Highway 83 from North Platte to Valentine (Lithospermum incisum), Fremont’s clematis (Clematis fremontii), 5—Highway 6 from Imperial to McCook ground plum (Astragalus crassicar- 6—Highway 8 from Falls City to Fairbury pos) and prairie ragwort (Senecio plattensis). 7—Highway 11 from Scotia through Burwell to Butte in Boyd County  Mid-spring to early summer 8—Highway 61 from Ogallala to Merriman beauties include: dwarf blue indigo (Baptisia minor), evening primrose 9—Highway 71 from Gering to Crawford (Oenothera missouriensis), butter- 10—Highway 12 from Ponca to Valentine; for diversity fly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), leadplant (Amorpha canescens), Other great roadways for wildflower viewing: prairie skullcap (Scutelleria resi- Highway 87 from Alliance to Hay Springs nosa), desert globemallow (Sphaer- alcea coccinea), shell-leaf pen- Highway 29 from Mitchell to Harrison stemon (Penstemon grandiflorus), pale purple coneflower Echinacea( Highway 92 from Oshkosh to Gering pallida), purple prairie clover (Dalea Highway 34 from Benkelman to McCook purpurea) and purple poppy mallow (Callirhoe involucrata). Highway 275 from Clearwater to O’Neill  Late summer to fall: prairie coneflower (Ratibida columnifera) aromatic aster (Aster oblongifolius), Fendler’s aster (Aster fendleri), showy goldenrod (Solidago spe- ciosa) and dotted gayfeather (Liatris punctata).

Weedy Natives to Watch out for The following list of aggressive wildflowers can be appropriate for gar- den use if they are maintained as a single mass planting, surrounded by a mowed surface or planted in a bed dominated by grasses. I’ve grown all of the following Prairie Grasses for the Garden

By Bob Henrickson, Nebraska Statewide Arboretum the grasses and forbs are shortened and Once established, these areas will not nothing is allowed to be aggressive. need watering, mowing or fertilizing Prairies are, by definition, A garden with a plethora of grasses and won’t create run-off. With wildlife grasslands. Prairie ecologist John E. will keep any aggressive wildflowers in habitat disappearing at an alarming rate, Weaver found that although grasses check through competition. Moreover, creating a prairie savannah can help dominate tallgrass prairie and individual many spring and early summer benefit both you and the environment. grass clumps are large, they occupied wildflowers simply set seed and go The forest understory includes more less than 14 percent of the total ground dormant as taller grasses grow above forbs, shrubs and sedges than grasses. area, leaving plenty of room for prairie them later in the season. They look great Many native woodland species tend to wildflowers. early in the season, but by mid-summer bloom early in the spring and then go When designing a pocket prairie a sweep of wildflowers can look tired dormant to avoid the dense shade and dry I always recommend that at least 50 and unattractive. Grasses will work to conditions that occur during the growing percent of the plant material be prairie hide the dormant stems of these spring season. grasses. If prairie wildflowers are bloomers through the summer and into The following wildflowers and allowed to grow on their own without fall, all the while forming colorful, grasses will tolerate shade. competition from grasses for space, showy seedheads. Just remember not sunlight and moisture, they soon take to pamper prairie grasses; overwatering Wildflowers and Grasses for Part advantage by growing too large and and/or mulching them can make them Shade flopping, or by spreading to take over grow too large and flop over. prairie phlox, Phlox pilosa the bed. In a prairie garden, you need to Grasses can be categorized as Ohio spiderwort, Tradescantia ohioensis make root competition so fierce that all either short or tall and they can also bracted spiderwort, Tradescantia be categorized by season: cool season bracteata grasses green up as soon as temperatures wild columbine, Aquilegia canadensis rise above freezing; warm season grasses prairie alumroot, Heuchera richardsonii grow in the heat of summer and bloom in culver’s root, Veronicastrum virginicum late summer or early fall. smooth aster, Aster laevis purple meadow rue, Thalictrum Tall Prairie Grasses for Wet/Dry Soils dasycarpum big bluestem, Andropogon gerardii obedience plant, Physostegia virginiana Indiangrass, Sorghastrum nutans golden alexander, Zizia aurea switchgrass, Panicum virgatum turtlehead, Chelone glabra Canada wildrye, Elymus canadensis wild geranium, Geranium maculatum prairie cordgrass, Spartina pectinata wild bergamot, Monarda fistulosa bottlebrush grass, Hystrix patula New Jersey tea, Ceanothus americanus bottle gentian, Gentiana andrewsii Shorter Prairie Grasses for Sunny, silky wildrye, Elymus villosus Dry Sites bottlebrush grass, Hystrix patula prairie Junegrass, Koeleria macrantha prairie sedge, Carex bicknellii little bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium prairie dropseed, Sporobolus heterolepis sideoats grama, Bouteloua curtipendula blue grama, Bouteloua gracilis Woodland Wildflowers for Dense Shade prairie dropseed, Sporobolus heterolepis woodland phlox, Phlox divaricata Plains muhly, Muhlenbergia cuspidata Solomon’s seal, Polygonatum biflorum false Solomon’s seal, Smilacina stellata Prairie Grasses for Sandy Soils mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum sand bluestem, Andropogon hallii sweet cicely, Osmorhiza claytoni Indian ricegrass, Oryzopsis hymenoides dog’s tooth violet, Erythronium albidum sand dropseed, Sporobolus cryptandrus bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis sand lovegrass, Eragrostis trichoides Jack-in-the-pulpit, Arisaema triphyllum hairy grama, Bouteloua hirsuta harebells, Campanula rotundifolia Be part of it! western wheatgrass, Pascopyrum smithii Prairie Savannahs and Woodlands Join the Nebraska Prairies are often bordered by savan- nah areas with scattered trees. Here on the Statewide Great Plains we had bur oak savannahs. The sun-loving prairie and forest species Arboretum that grew among them are ideal for creat- Your membership dollars stay in the state, ing a prairie style garden in areas of your and 70 percent of funding flows back property with partial or full shade. into Nebraska’s communities. Even in an area dominated by large You receive garden-related shade trees it is possible to garden with some of the benefits of a prairie. Instead publications, discounts on books, of mowing your lawn once a week, prints, notecards and plants and free Prairie grasses are great companions you mow once a year. In fall, instead of admission to more than 250 botanical raking leaves you simply let them drop gardens and arboreta across America. for wildflower plantings. They help keep onto your beds. To let your neighbors them upright, hide dormant spring- Member Categories know this is a “planned landscape,” bloomers and add visual interest through knee-high islands of savannah grasses Basic...... $45 fall and winter. and wildflowers can be surrounded by Patron...... $100 mowed areas of bluegrass or fescue. Contributor...... $250 Top to bottom, left to right: Sustainor...... $500 emerging seedhead of big bluestem; Guarantor...... $1,000 Junegrass with little bluestem; (circle member category desired) brown-eyed Susan with little bluestem; Name ...... sand lovegrass with coneflower heads; Address...... switchgrass with little bluestem City...... and sideoats grama; State/zip...... little bluestem with perennials (opposite). Telephone...... Return to: Nebraska Statewide Arboretum P.O. Box 830715 University of Nebraska Lincoln, NE 68583-0715 402/472-2971