Site Analysis and Native Plant Selection Al Cooke Agricultural Extension Agent Chatham County [email protected] http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/chatham/staff/acooke/home.html Let‟s start with the myths • Native plants are more aggressive and better adapted • Kudzu and “bamboograss” are not native Let‟s start with the myths • Native Plants are disease resistant • American chestnut; American elm Let‟s start with the myths • Native Plants are insect resistant Dogwood clubgall midge Emerald ash borer Hemlock wooly adelgid Asian longhorned beetle Gypsy moth Southern pine beetle ….. Dogwood borer injury Let‟s start with the myths • Native Plants are drought tolerant Water lily Let‟s start with the myths Native Plants grow wild; little or no site preparation is necessary • This plant may produce 1,000s of seeds; if one seed grows to maturity, the parent was successful • Is that good enough for gardeners? Wildflowers “Because of their delicately balanced adaptation to very specific natural environments, many wild flowers cannot grow in habitats that have been altered or disturbed, nor can they compete with the plants of the more weedy introduced species that rapidly invade the vast areas of land opened or altered by the machines of man for roads, farms, dwellings, and industrial complexes.” - Justice and Bell, Wild Flowers of North Carolina, 1968 There is no plant native to this site. What is Native? • Native to where? – Continent, region, state, county? • Native to what? – Soil type, microclimate, ecological niche? Plants have developed sophisticated dispersal strategies. From before the age of agriculture plants have used humans as a means of dispersal What is Native? • Native When? • Before Europeans? • Before Native Americans? • Before continental drift? • What is “native” changes over time. Ginkgo biloba Native to North America “Ginkgo” > 100 million years ago Extinct Reintroduction route China -> Japan -> Europe -> NA Native or not? Baccharis halimifolia “Eastern Baccharis” “Believed to have been restricted at one time to the outer cp.” How do we know what was here? • John Lawson, • John Bartram – 1674 - 1711 – 1699 – 1777 • Surveyor-General of • Collected from Ontario to North Carolina, 1700 Florida • Shipped American plants to England • William Bartram – 1739 – 1823 • Traveled with father • 1773-77, journeys through southern colonies • 1791, Travels published How do we know what was here? • B.W. Wells • The Natural Gardens of North Carolina • Understanding the plant‟s relationships in its community • 1932, 2002 How do we know what was here? • Albert E. Radford, Harry E. Ahles, C. Ritchie Bell, 1964 • 1st “serious systematic survey” • Begun 1956 Site Analysis If the site is no longer native, salvaged plants may not thrive even in their original location Site Analysis • Soil conditions • Drainage • Available water • Slope, Exposure • Air movement • What‟s underground and overhead? Site Analysis: What we need to know about the place • Expectations • Size of space(s) • Utilities • Soil • Irrigation? • Exposure • Microclimate Expectations – What kind of mental pictures do you have? – Hobbies? – Children? Pets? Size of space(s) • What size plants will fit? • How many? • How much mulch? Site Analysis • Soil • Drainage • Air Movement • Exposure Exposure • North/South/East/West • Light • Wind • Buildings • Snowfall Microclimate • Light/shade • Hot/Cold • Wet/Dry • Proximity to hard surfaces Transmit Absorb Reflect Utilities • Call before you dig • The North Carolina One Call Center • 1-800-632-4949 • Call at least 48 hours before digging A Landscape is Never Finished • It includes a living, growing collection of plants – • It will change • It will grow to change the environment • Some plants will no longer be suitable and will need to be removed and/or replaced U.S. National Arboretum, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html U.S. National Arboretum, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html American Horticultural Society Heat Zone Map http://www.ahs.org/publications/heat_zone_map.htm Some Climate Questions • Cold, heat, and duration • Wind, water, humidity • It‟s not how cold it gets; it‟s how it gets cold • It‟s not how hot it gets; it‟s how long it stays hot Some Criteria for Plant Selection • Size • Flowers, Fruits • Growth rate • Fall color • Growth habit • Attractive Bark • Tolerances & • Fragrance Sensitivities – Sun/shade, drought, wet/compacted soil, cold/heat, insects, disease, fertility, urban pollution www.ncstate-plants.net What we need to know about the plant: Size • Mature height and width Mature height and width What we need to know about the plant: Rate • How fast will Dwarf Burford Holly it grow • What does dwarf mean? What we need to know about the plant: Hardiness • How tough is the plant • Cold, heat, wind, water • It‟s not how cold it gets; it‟s how it gets cold • It‟s not how hot it gets; it‟s how long it stays hot What we need to know about the plant: Culture • Sun/shade • Moist/dry • pH • Fertility • Pruning • Native habitat Survival is usually not sufficient What we need to know about the plant: Predictable Problems • Diseases • Insects • The beginning point for IPM What we need to know about the plant: Ozone Tolerance What we need to know about the plant: Fruit • Ornamental? • Maintenance problem? What we need to know about the plant: What else does it drop? What we need to know about the plant: Leaves • Evergreen/Deciduous © 2000 NC State University What we need to know about the plant: Leaves • Texture What we need to know about the plant: Stem • Multi-stem/Single stem • Colonial © 2000 NC State University © 2000 NC State University What we need to know about the plant: Stem • Ornamental bark? – Color – Exfoliation – Shape – Texture What we need to know about the plant: Flowers • Color • Size • Fragrance • Allergies? What about Wildflowers? • Start seed in flats • Provides plants for transplanting that have a competitive advantage over the weeds that follow • Allows you to distinguish the plant from the weeds http://www.doh.dot.state.nc.us/operations/dp_chief_eng/roadside/wildflowerbook/ Why should we use natives? • Fit the (intended) character of the site • Pride of place • Food sources for wildlife • Broad gene-pool of characteristics and adaptations • Good plants Why should we use natives? • Food sources for wildlife • The Douglas Tallamy thesis – Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants by Douglas W. Tallamy; 2007, 2009 Why use non-natives? • Site is seldom in its native state • Non-natives may be pre-adapted due to having developed in similar geographic areas • Broad gene-pool of characteristics and adaptations • Good plants (including evergreen shrubs) Acquiring Native Plants • Transplanting from the wild • Nursery Grown • Nursery Propagated • Grow your own NATIVE TRUTHS SOME native plants are good landscape plants in SOME locations. -Dick Bir -Retired Extension Specialist -NC State University Fagus grandifolia “American beech” Sun to partial shade 50-80‟ high x 40-60‟wide Moist well-drained soil Rich damp woods Primarily uplands Gleditsia triacanthos “honeylocust” Sun, 50-75‟ high 25-40‟ wide Creates light shade Piedmont woods and borders Liriodendron tulipiferra “tulip poplar” Sun to light shade 40-100‟ high x 20-40‟ wide Rapid growth Rich low woods Platanus occidentalis “sycamore” Sun to partial shade 70-100‟ high x 60-80‟ wide Moist, well drained soil Low woods Prunus serotina “wild cherry” Sun, 50-80‟ high Wide soil tolerance Seldom planted Fruit used by birds All parts toxic to livestock Woodlands, fence rows, Gil Wojciech, Polish Forest Research Institute, Bugwood.org pastures Juglans nigra “black walnut” Deciduous 50-70 ft. high & wide Drought tolerant Tough nut Allelopathic Thin woods, open areas Fraxinus pennsylvanica F. americana Deciduous, 50 – 60 feet Sun Rapid “White Ash” “Green Ash” Deep, rich soils, floodplains Betula nigra “river birch” Deciduous 40-70 ft high & wide Exfoliating bark Often grown as multi-stemmed tree Twiggy Lowlands, floodplains Nyssa sylvatica “black gum” Sun to partial shade 40-60‟ high x 20-30‟ wide Tolerates heavy soil Difficult to transplant Thin woods or in open Quercus spp. “oak” (at least 14 spp. in Chatham) Scarlet Willow Pin White Sun, good drainage Swamp Soil tolerant chestnut Important mast producers Shumard‟s red Acer rubrum “red maple” Deciduous, 40-60‟ high x 25-45‟ wide Sun to shade, soil tolerant Low, rich woods Highly variable Acer barbatum “Southern Sugar Maple” Deciduous, 20 – 30 feet Sun Good heat, drought tolerance Good fall color Wooded valleys, hillsides Robinia pseudoacacia “black locust” Deciduous, 30-50 ft. Soil tolerant Young growth thorny Colonial Thin woods, open areas Ulmus alata “winged elm” Deciduous 30-40 ft high & wide Rapid growth Uplands Sassafras albidum “sassafras” 30-60‟ high x 25-40‟wide Sun to partial shade Soil tolerant Difficult to transplant Swallowtail caterpillars feed The Dow Gardens Archive, Dow Gardens, Bugwood.org Fencerows, old fields Woodland edges Cercis canadensis “eastern redbud” Deciduous, 20-30 ft. Typically wider than tall Spring bloom Short-lived Understory, various types Aesculus sylvatica “painted buckeye” Sun to shade, 5-12‟ high Moist with good drainage Understory tree Stream banks Alluvial woods Ilex opaca “American holly” Evergreen, 30-60 ft ½ as wide Male and female plants Less dense in woodland sites Mixed hardwoods Carpinus caroliniana