Why Should I Plant Native?

Discover how to start a native garden with Prairie Restorations' expert planting guide. Get tips on soil prep, plant selection, and eco-friendly landscape practices.

Purple penstemon flowers in blooming garden

Is Native Habitat Gone Forever?

Native plants play an important role in the health of our ecosystems, and by planting them, we can help ensure that these ecosystems remain healthy and intact for future generations. Fortunately, we can reverse the effects of the past 100 years and rebuild our native habitat.

Native seeds and seedlings are indigenous to a particular area. They are often well-adapted to the climate and soil of their native region and can be used to help restore local ecosystems. There are many benefits to using native seeds, including:

  1. They are better adapted to the local climate and soil and can thus be more successful in re-establishing native plant populations.
  2. They support local wildlife since many animals and insects are adapted to feed on and pollinate native plants.
  3. They are often more drought-tolerant and disease-resistant than non-native plants.
  4. They can help reduce the need for chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

How To Choose the Right Spot for a Native Garden

Native plants are an important part of a healthy ecosystem, but they can be difficult to grow if you don’t know where to plant them. It’s important to choose the right spot for your native plants because they need the right soil and climate to thrive.

If you’re unsure where to plant your native plants, you can ask one of the experts from Prairie Restorations, Inc. or do some research online. Many great resources are available online, including plant databases and gardening forums - we recommend joining our Prairie Restorations Community on Facebook. You can also find information about the best plants for your area by checking out your state’s native plant society. Once you’ve chosen the right spot for your plants, taking care of them is important. Native plants need regular watering and maintenance to stay healthy. With a little care, your native plants will thrive and help create a healthy ecosystem in your yard.

How To Prepare Soil for Your Native Garden

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the preparation of soil for planting will vary depending on the types of plants you are trying to grow and the existing vegetation. However, there are some basics that you should keep in mind.

The first step is to remove any existing vegetation from the planting area. This can be done with a shovel or hoe or using a herbicide to kill the plants. If you are using an herbicide, read the label carefully to ensure its safe and proper use on your property.

As an alternative, you may try blanketing the area with plastic to bake the root system of turf grass and kill it. This process can take an entire growing season to do properly.

Another alternative to traditional herbicide is horticultural vinegar, an extremely strong concentration of vinegar, which should still be used with caution. These alternative methods will likely need more maintenance and diligence on the part of the property owner to ensure the successful eradication of invasive species.

Once the existing vegetation is dead and removed, the next step is to loosen the soil. This can be done with a shovel, hoe, rake, or rototiller. Be sure to break up any clumps of soil and to remove any large rocks or roots. Additionally, if you need to use a rototiller, please know that you may introduce more weeds and may need to take additional vegetation management before seeding. Once the soil is prepared, use a rake to smooth the surface for seeding.

Purple flowers with dew drops on petals

How To Plant Native Seeds

Native seeds can be planted in a variety of ways. For most homeowners, the best option is to scatter them on the ground by hand broadcasting at the specified rate for the species or mix you’re planting, so be sure to check the package for detailed information. For even coverage, we recommend that you broadcast seed in perpendicular rows across the site to ensure even coverage.

You’ll want to broadcast any grass seed first, which will get raked into the soil lightly. Next, it is ideal to mulch the area lightly with either a clean (no seed) straw or preferably with our native Little Bluestem straw, sold at our retail garden centers. After a light mulching is complete, now it’s time to broadcast your native wildflower seeds, which should not be raked into the soil. A good rain or watering is sufficient to cover the seed.

Striped caterpillar on a pink flowering plant.

How To Plant Native Plants

While seeding is an economical way to begin a restoration project or garden, it is not usually the best option when done as the only method of introducing native plants. This is due to the sensitivity of many native plants seeds, and the inability of many species to be harvested and sold commercially. This means that your project can utilize seedlings or larger potted plants to introduce a greater diversity of plants.

Prairie Restorations, Inc. produces a wide range of seedlings, called plugs, that are sold in a six-pack for a relatively low cost. Also sold at Prairie Restorations, Inc. are larger sizes including 4” pots up to one-gallon pots, which can give you up to a 5 or more year jump start on your plants. This can be tremendously helpful if you want to see blooms and a more established garden right away. Most projects utilize a variety of sizes depending on the species used and availability.

Planting plugs, larger 4” pots, and one-gallon pots all follow the same simple planting instructions. After you’ve seeded and mulched the garden (if applicable), you now can lay out your live plants. It is recommended that you lay the plants out before planting to get an idea of how each plant species will interact with the ones around it. It also provides a good check for any paper plans you may have used to design your garden.

Once everything looks good, all you’ll need to do is dig a hole in the soil slightly larger than the plant’s roots. the base of the plant in the pot should planted level with the new soil. Pack any loose dirt back around the plant and make sure you water it well the same day to ensure it has the best chance!

How To Water and Care for Native Plants

Watering is one of the most important tasks that needs to be done in order to maintain a healthy garden. It is critical to the health of the plants that they receive the correct amount of water. If seeding, it is important to water them into the soil at approximately one inch of water a week. It is best to do a deep soaking once a week rather than several light waterings throughout the week. 

Once seedlings are coming up and become more established they do not require as much watering, if any at all, as native plants’ root systems generally go much deeper and are capable of providing the plant with the necessary water and nutrients. New seedlings should receive similar amounts of water while becoming established, but you should monitor the plants more closely if the weather is excessively hot or dry.

Researchers at the University of Utah have found that native plants don’t need to be fertilized in order to grow and thrive. In fact, adding fertilizer can actually do more harm than good since it can disrupt the natural balance of the soil. Native plants are adapted to the local soil and climate, so they don’t need any help from us to flourish. So go ahead and plant those native plants without fear—they’ll take care of themselves.

How Do I Weed My Native Garden?

Weeding non-native plants is an important part of maintaining a healthy native garden. These plants can often out-compete natives for resources and take over an area if not kept in check. There are a few methods for weeding non-native plants. The most common is hand-weeding, which involves simply pulling the plants out of the ground by hand. This is a great option on a small garden, but can be quite laborious on larger projects Another option is using a weed-eater or mower to cut the plants at ground level before they can develop seeds. This is a good option for larger areas but but only works to eliminate annual weeds.

Using herbicides to kill the plants is the most effective, but this needs to be done with caution as it can kill the native plants and be harmful to humans and animals if not used correctly. Feel free to contact Prairie Restorations, Inc. if you have questions about what product might be best for your application, or if you would like assistance with this process.

No matter your chosen method, it is important to be thorough and get all the weeds. Otherwise, they will just grow back, or worse, they will spread their seed and overtake your garden. These steps are critical in the first 3-5 years of your restoration as the native plants establish themselves. After your restoration or garden is established, weeding shouldn’t be needed nearly as much but will likely be something you need to watch for each year.

Native plant area, sign warning not to disturb.

Establishing a Prairie & Maintenance

Cluster of vibrant purple asters in bloom.

Important Planting Dates & Times

Prairie seeds can be planted in the spring or fall. The best time to seed is during spring thaw and late fall, but seeding can be done successfully during the growing season. Winter seeding can also be effective on prepared seed beds on sites with little competition.

Potted seedlings can be planted anytime from spring thaw to freeze-up, although those planted in mid-summer may require supplemental watering. If you have any questions, please feel free to call and talk to one of our expert restorationists.

Close-up of green grass seeds on stems.

It’s happening underground!

Most native plants are perennials. Although perennial seeds will germinate the first year, the young seedlings’ root growth will be two to three times their above-ground growth. So while you may see very little above-ground growth, maybe only a couple of inches or less with some species, they may not flower until the second or third year. While this lack of visual growth can be frustrating, keep in mind that it is the strong root system of native perennials that enables them to be nearly maintenance-free at maturity.
You should see some of the faster growing plants such as Black-eyed Susan or Side Oats Grama flower and set seed in the first year. Although it is exciting to see this quick progress, mowing will likely be needed to keep weeds from setting seed and/or crowding out the slower growing native species and may disrupt your enjoyment of this early visual success. Mowing is done above the height of most native plants; those that are clipped and prevented from flowering are forced to focus on their root systems, benefiting the plant in the long run.

Dragonfly perched on purple wildflower in meadow.

Coming along nicely

Keep in mind that although you are in the second growing season for your restoration, your planting is still only 8-16 months old. During the second season residual seeds from the first season will germinate and the faster-growing native plants will become more obvious. Species such as Black-eyed Susan, Hoary Vervain, Wild Bergamot, Canada Wild Rye, and Little Bluestem will flower and produce seed.
The slower growing native plants will continue to mature, and their foliage will become more obvious. If growing conditions have been ideal, you may see some of these slower growing species put out a small flower or single seed head. However, there may be a need for weed control and one mowing might be necessary sometime between mid-June and mid-August. Spot spraying will likely be necessary this year as well. Live plants installed in the first year will start to blend in as seeded species begin to catch up in their growth, but remember these plants are still present, just more difficult to find. Projects that were installed as all live plants should look quite good but will likely require some weeding or spot spraying if weed species are present.

Worker conducts controlled burn in grassy field.

First glimpses of mature planting

In year three you’ll begin to see what you likely envisioned your native plant community would look like. Your planting is now 20-28 months old and beginning to mature. By the third growing season your patience will begin to pay off. Visible diversity is increasing. Both grasses and flowers are becoming mature, providing beautiful views for you and habitat and for an increasing diversity of insects, birds and more. Early successional plants such as Black-eyed Susan may begin to fade as other plants mature. Some grasses you thought you’d never see will begin to get a foothold. Some maintenance will still be required as invasive weeds try to invade your still maturing landscape.
As part of Integrated Plant Management, you may wonder if a prescribed burn is needed. While it depends on the current status of your site, it may be best to wait on a burn until year four or five.

closeup images of yellow flowers and orange butterfly weed in a field

Year Four will still bring change

Grasses will often dominate a restoration in the next few years as they flex their muscles and work to expand their root systems. At the same time, flowers are working to find their niche and will become much more obvious as the ecosystem works its way into a more natural balance. Late succession flowers will begin to show up as the years pass. Your landscape will likely change from year to year depending on growing conditions and the management techniques that are applied to your landscape. Watching these natural changes and fluctuations from season to season and year to year is one of the great joys of the natural landscape.

Ongoing Partnership with PRI - Services to support your planting

Mowing

Although native landscapes do not need regular mowing like turf, mowing is a useful tool in maintaining native landscapes. Mowing in the dormant season can hasten the breakdown of biomass, and mowing during the first growing season can control annual weeds while the tiny native seedlings develop. PRI can provide mowing of projects of any size using flail mowers and other equipment that is designed to mulch plant material into fine pieces that break down quickly.

Integrated Plant Management

During the growing season our crews can visit your site on a regular basis to conduct the appropriate methods of control for unwanted non-native or invasive species. By using a combination of techniques including spot mowing, selective herbicide treatment, and hand weeding. Our crews can discourage the growth of invasives while allowing the natives to flourish

Prescribed Burning

Prescribed burning is an extremely useful tool in the management of many types of native landscapes. Many plant community types are fire dependent and thrive when they are burned periodically. Proper planning, permitting, timing, safety, equipment and implementation are all critical when conducting prescribed burns. Our staff has the experience, training and equipment needed to conduct your burn safely and effectively.
Keep in mind that although you are in the second growing season for your restoration, your planting is still only 8-16 months old. During the second season residual seeds from the first season will germinate and the faster-growing native plants will become more obvious. Species such as Black-eyed Susan, Hoary Vervain, Wild Bergamot, Canada Wild Rye, and Little Bluestem will flower and produce seed.
The slower growing native plants will continue to mature, and their foliage will become more obvious. If growing conditions have been ideal, you may see some of these slower growing species put out a small flower or single seed head. However, there may be a need for weed control and one mowing might be necessary sometime between mid-June and mid-August. Spot spraying will likely be necessary this year as well. Live plants installed in the first year will start to blend in as seeded species begin to catch up in their growth, but remember these plants are still present, just more difficult to find. Projects that were installed as all live plants should look quite good but will likely require some weeding or spot spraying if weed species are present.

Let’s Chat About Your Project!

Whether you're ready to start a full-scale restoration or have questions, our team is here to help you determine which of our services is right for you. We’d love to hear from you—contact us today!

Smiling person holding a green plant, wearing hat.