Prairie Garden, How To:

Prairies may not be native to your region but that does not mean you can’t have one.  If you use plants commonly found in your area and follow some simple prairie management techniques, in a few years you will have a thriving landscape that is low maintenance and easy on the pocketbook.  Not only are prairie gardens attractive to look at, but they also attract many types of birds, butterflies, and other native wildlife.  Follow the steps below to start establishing your prairie garden today:

Choose the location, and size, for your prairie garden.  I recommend starting small.  You can always increase the size as time and resources present themselves.  Most prairie plants grow best in full sun so look for a location that provides maximum exposure.

Note your soil conditions.  Do you have areas that are consistently dry or wet?  Is your soil sandy or heavy clay?  Noting these conditions will help determine plant selection.  It may be beneficial to map out your prairie site on a piece of graph paper, noting sun exposure and drainage. 

Prepare the site:

Remove all existing vegetation.  There are numerous ways to this, listed below are the most common:

• Place dark plastic, tarps, and/or cardboard over the grass and weeds for approximately 2 months prior to planting.  The best time to do this method is the summer prior to a spring planting.  When it is time to plant, be sure to till the area to a depth of 12 inches.      
• Another popular option is to use a non-selective herbicide, such as Round-up®, to kill all existing vegetation.  Spray the entire area, wait 2 weeks, then cultivate the area to a depth of 12 inches.

Add compost to your site if needed.  Both heavy clay and sandy soils will benefit from a 2-3 inch layer of organic matter. 

Choose your plants.  Carefully choose your plants, matching them to the soil conditions in your garden. 

Seeds vs. Plants, Pros and Cons:

Seeds:          

• pro – economical
• con – can take 3 years for plants to reach maturity

Plants:          

• pro – establish more quickly and it is easier to control placement
• con – more expensive

Time to plant:

The best time to plant is in the spring.  In most areas that will be sometime in May or June.

• Seeds:  only use high quality, fresh seeds (check the expiration date on the package), ensure even seed distribution and good soil contact. Hand-broadcasting or the use of a spreader are both acceptable methods.  Afterwards, rake the seeds into the soil to ensure good seed to soil contact.  Recommended seeding depth is ¼ to ½ inch. Watering is essential.  If you do not get adequate rainfall, supplemental watering will be required for optimal seed germination and establishment.
• Live Plants:  limit your plant selection to no more than 30 different varieties.  Then, plant in groups of 10 or more.  Choose tall plants with long lasting flowers, attractive foliage and seed-heads.  The garden may benefit from an initial mulching until the plants have grown large enough to suppress weeds.    

Maintenance:

Once established, a prairie garden is low maintenance.  Occasionally you may need to re-seed/plant to fill in a bare spot.  Perennial plants can be cut back at the end of the season if you so desire. 

NOTE:  If you started with seeds:  The first couple of years after planting you will probably need to mow above the seedlings to help control weeds.   Set your mower height to 4-8 inches, to avoid cutting prairie plants.

Plants commonly found in prairie style gardens:

Grasses:

• Sorghastrum nutans (indian grass)
• little bluestem
• big bluestem
• feather reed grass ‘Karl Foerster’
• sideoats gramma
• panicum virgatum (switch grass)
• sporobolus heterolepis (prairie dropseed)

 Perennials: 

• Echinacea (purple coneflower)
• Phlox pilosa (praire phlox)
• Baptisia (false indigo)
• Rudbeckia (black-eyed susan)
• Asclepias (butterfly weed)
• Penstemon (beardtonque)
• Liatris (gay feather)
• Lupine
• Persicaria (fleece flower, bistort, firetail)
• Allium
• Veronicastrum (culver’s root)

                                     Happy Planting!