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The Garden Plot for May 09, 2008
3:55 PM - 4:00 PM
[Program Website]
Today's Highlight: “From Weeds To Wildflower Meadow”
Now is the time to greet the wildflowers of spring and think how nice it would be to have our very own wildflower meadow. Unfortunately, what many of us have instead is a patch of weeds. Most of those weeds, such as knapweed and quackgrass, are presently sprouting with bright green exuberance. Here are some tricks to go from a weedy patch to a wildflower meadow. First, the weeds will have to be dealt with. Your weed management plan depends on what kinds of weeds you have. Annual weeds, such as the weedy mustards that bloom yellow later in the summer and velvety-leafed cheat grass, can be tilled in or sprayed out with a non-selective herbicide such as vinegar or glyphosate. Perennial weeds such as knapweed can also be tilled or sprayed with glyphosate. Vinegar is not as effective on perennial weeds, especially if you want to plant your meadow this season. Repeated tillage and several vinegar applications are almost always necessary for perennial weeds. Some perennial weeds are so tough to keep out of wildflower meadows, they require a season of special forces attack before you can plant. Rhizomatous, or root-spreading weeds, such as quackgrass, are not easy to manage with tillage and selective herbicides. If these weeds are present, you’ll save yourself a lot of heartache if you devote this spring and summer to managing them and plan to establish your wildflower meadow in the fall. Contact your local extension or weed district staff to help with weed identification and management options,
After taking care of weeds, plan your meadow to smother-out any weeds that might try to sneak back in. You can do this by the wildflower species you choose as well as by the way you plant. If the area in which you will be planting is weed-free, or had only annual weeds which you took care of, you can plant anything you want, including the beautiful, but slow to establish, earliest-spring-blooming Pasqueflower, with large, purple-blue petals and golden centers. Pasqueflower (Anemone patens) is not competitive with weeds the first or even second season you plant it, but then fills in and holds its own very well. If your wildflower meadow-to-be had a healthy weed population to contend with, you might consider choosing wildflower species that compete best with weeds, such as blue flax (Linum lewisii), daisy fleabane (Erigeron speciosus), Blanket flower (Gailardia aristata), and native aster species. Another important weed-combating tool is to plant both seed and transplants so that there are no open areas for weeds to establish themselves. Plant a wildflower or native grass plug every one to two feet, or in groups of three separated by two to three feet, then seed wildflowers in the open areas in between plugs. When planting seed, rake it in carefully. Make sure that wildflower or native grass seed is covered by ¼ to ½ inch of soil. Another method for larger wildflower meadows is to seed first and then transplant plugs. If you have access to a drill seeder, split the total amount of seed in half and seed the area in one direction, then go over the area again in the other direction. This avoids the problem I see in many drill-seeded native plant meadows: the weeds invade the empty areas in between each drill row. Even when seeding by hand, try to cover the open space as completely as possible with the seed you want to grow. Otherwise weed seed that is almost always present in the soil will have an easier time getting established.
Once you plant your meadow, don’t expect it to remain the same in perpetuity. Wildflower meadows change over time as some species dominate and others begin to fade. Many quick to establish species don’t last and may need to be replaced in five to seven years. Stoloniferous species that spread by creeping stems, such as rosy pussytoes (Antnenaria microphylla), will cover the ground rapidly with a mat of silver-green leaves, but then fade out and leave holes after seven years. Aggressive species such as purple aster (Aster laevis) may need a bit of thinning out, after they have done their job keeping weeds at bay for three to five years.
Helen Atthowe's new short program of gardening tips
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