Victoria County Master Gardener Association

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2018 Nov 02

COASTAL PRAIRIE GARDENS

Native plants can be beautiful, beneficial

November 02, 2018

By Suzann LaBrecque - Victoria County Master Gardener

Edited by Charla Borchers Leon

PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED BY SUZANN LABRECQUE/VICTORIA COUNTY MASTER GARDENER

This Texas Superstar 'Princess Caroline' variety of the ornamental Napier Grass is growing alongside other grasses inside the fence line at Victoria Educational Gardens at Victoria Regional Airport. Notice the fall hues in the blades that with sunlight bring color to the garden.

Perennial plants can be planted along with ornamental grasses in coastal prairie gardens for bloom color and variety in texture. This Yellow Butterfly Milkweed plant shown here blooms in early summer through fall and is one of several butterfly habitat plants known to attract butterflies to area gardens.

This bed spotted with perennial color includes plantings of tropical red and yellow milkweed with wispy butterfly white and pink Gaura insterspersed with Red Batface Cuphea, all of which bloom this time of year from late summer into fall. They along with ornamental grasses can provide color and texture to a coastal prairie garden setting.

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY SUZANN LABRECQUE/VICTORIA COUNTY MASTER GARDENER

Foundation plants in coastal prairie gardens include ornamental grasses and native plants or those that have adapted to the area. Wispy grasses of 3 to 6 feet with color provide various hues that move in the natural breeze of a coastal prairie garden. Shown here is Coastal Muhly Grass that pops with a pink flare alongside a garden path with various other green perennial plants on either side and across from landscaped turfgrass.

Recently, I started reading about prairie restoration projects and became aware of the Native Prairies Association of Texas. The organization’s goal is “to restore native prairies and to promote restoration on private and public lands to benefit the native plant communities, grassland birds and other prairie wildlife in Texas.”

Native plants and ornamental grasses – require minimal care

Did you know that the Gulf prairies span 6,500,000 acres along the Texas coast? The primary vegetation is tall grasses with some post oak savannah. Since much of this prairie has been invaded by trees and brush, the need for prairie restoration projects has become critical.

Restoration prairie gardens require plants native to area

Few gardeners have enough acreage to restore the coastal prairie, but they can plant a wide variety of plants that are native to the area. The restoration prairie garden is more demanding because it requires selecting only plants originally native to that certain area.

New prairie gardens can be selected native plants and ornamental grasses

In contrast, residential gardeners planning prairie gardens can select native plants and ornamental grasses that continuously bloom throughout the growing season.

One significant advantage of an established prairie garden is that it requires minimal care. It literally does not need to be fertilized, sprayed or watered. Native plants are very hardy and easy to grow.

Questions in planning a prairie garden

There are questions to be asked when planning a prairie garden.

Is the location in my yard suitable for a planned prairie garden?
Is the location in full sun with minimal competition from tree roots?
Does the selected area’s soil need amendments?
Is the planned garden away from the home and other buildings? It’s important to note that prairie gardens can be fire hazards.
Are there any city or homeowner ordinances that prevent a native plant garden?

Steps in creating a prairie garden

In creating prairie garden designs, follow these steps:

Evaluate soil

Start by selecting and evaluating the site’s soil and its drainage, hours of daily sunlight and its absence of shrubs and trees. Note that poor drainage can kill grass plantings.

Lay out shape/edge of bed

Next use a garden hose to lay out the shape and edge of the bed. Be sure not to make it too big. It’s easy to sprinkle flour along the hose to mark the edge. Use a sharp spade to dig along the marked line.

Prepare bed

Strip and remove all the sod inside the bed. Use a garden tiller to loosen and grind the soil. Mix peat moss, organic material or compost into the soil and loosen the soil at least 6 inches.

Water and wait for weed germination and removal; then install edging

After the bed is prepared, water it thoroughly and wait a week so weeds can germinate and be removed. During this week, you can install edging around the area to keep out invasive grasses and weeds and to hold its shape.

Include grasses in plantings

Before planting, remember prairies are grasslands. As much as 80 percent of a prairie’s natural vegetation might be grasses. Home prairie gardens may have a larger proportion of flowering plants, but it must include ornamental grasses to be a prairie garden.

Native grasses for prairie gardens

In his book “Texas Garden Almanac,” Dr. Doug Welsh recommends five native grasses for prairie gardens. They include the list below with descriptions in the adjacent printed information:

Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
Bamboo muhly (Muhlenbergia dumosa)
Lindheimer muhly ((Muhlenbergia lindheimeri)
Switchgrass (Panicum viragatum)
Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans)

Native coastal prairie plants

In addition to grasses, select favorite coastal prairie plants that naturally grow in the Crossroads area. For prairie gardens to be successful, it is important to have plants that are adapted to the region.

Transplants vs. seeds

Planting seeds is the most economical way to start a prairie garden. However, it may take up to two years for the flowers to grow, fill in and produce a full site. Therefore, in residential gardens, it is best to start with transplants.

Mostly perennials with fall planting dates

Most, but not all, coastal prairie plants are perennials and should be planted in October and November. They, for the most part, bloom during the summer and into the fall.

Suggested perennial plants

Bat-face cuphea (Cuphea micropetala)
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Coreopsis (Coreopsis palmate)
Goldenrod (Solidago rigida)
Gaura (Gaura lindheimeri)
Butterfly weed (Asciepias tuberosa)

See these recommended plants with respective bloom times provided alongside this article.

Self-seeding beauties for years

Coastal prairie gardens can be both beautiful and beneficial. Go to Victoria Educational Gardens (VEG) at Victoria Regional Airport to see coastal grasses and perennials currently flourishing.

With careful planning, coastal prairie gardens will self-seed and provide continuous blooms for years.

The Gardeners’ Dirt is written by members of the Victoria County Master Gardener Association, an educational outreach of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension – Victoria County. Mail your questions in care of the Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77901; or vcmga@vicad.com, or comment on this column at VictoriaAdvocate.com.