Planning and Designing Your Prairie Meadow

Successful establishment of a prairie wildflower meadow involves preparing your site properly, selecting the plants that are suited to your soil, and choosing the best method and time of installation. For small prairie gardens of a few hundred square feet, transplants are generally preferable to seeds. With a little care, transplants often bloom the first year, giving you an instant prairie garden. When seeding prairies, the perennial wildflowers and grasses grow slowly, and typically do not bloom until the third year or later.

Select the plants that will flourish in your soil. Please refer to Understanding Your Soil for determining your soil type.

Transplants

Transplants do best when installed in spring or early fall. Early spring flowers often do better when transplanted in autumn. Space your transplants according to the guidelines in our Wildflower & Grass Selection Guide. Mark each

Transplant at planting time so that it is easily identified during weeding. Mulch with 2-3 inches of clean straw to keep weeds down. If you wish to use herbicides for weed control, pre-emergents such as Preen can be applied AFTER installing transplants, and before mulching. One or two weedings may be required in the first growing season. Once established, little further weeding should be necessary.

Spring Plant Shipping Season

Spring plant shipping season starts in early April and continues through mid June. Fall plant shipping starts in mid-to-late September, and continues until freeze-up. For the best plant selection, place your order early. We can reserve your plant order, and with one week advance notice, ship it when you are ready to plant.

Notice: We cannot cancel or make changes to your plant order within one week of your scheduled shipping date. During the rush of shipping, it is impossible to make last minute changes. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Seed is Shipped Year Round

Seed availability is best in late winter and early spring. For fall seeding, we recommend that you purchase and reserve your seed in early spring. When you are ready to plant, give us one week notice and we will ship the seed to meet your schedule. If you wish to store seeds, place them in air-tight, water-proof containers in a refrigerator. Seeds left at room temperature and ambient humidity can lose viability rapidly.

On areas over 1000 sq. ft. seeds are more economical than plants, but take longer to mature. Seeds can be planted in spring, early summer or fall. Prairie Nurserys seed mixes are excellent values, ranging in cost from less than 3 cents per square foot to 9 cents per square foot. Please see our Wildflower Seed Mixes for the seed mixes best suited to your conditions.

Seeding Prairies in Late Spring or Early Summer

Seeding prairies in late spring or early summer typically produces excellent results. Most prairie wildflowers and grasses are warm season plants that germinate best after soil temperatures have warmed up. In contrast, cool season lawn grasses do better when planted in fall or early spring when soil temperatures are cooler. Most prairie grasses germinate best when seeded in late spring or early summer. Planting at this time also allows for better pre-planting weed control than with fall seeding. Prairies can be successfully seeded from midspring until the end of June. Seeding prairies in the months of July and August is generally not recommended. The remaining growing season is often too short to allow for proper plant establishment prior to winter.

Fall Seeding

Fall Seeding can also be very successful, especially on dry soils. Prairies can be seeded from early September until the soil freezes. Fall plantings are “dormant seedings.” The native seeds will not germinate that fall, but will overwinter in the soil and germinate the following spring. This is particularly beneficial when seeding on dry sandy or rocky soils. The seeds will germinate in early spring when soil moisture is abundant and become established before the heat of summer.

Clay soils can also benefit from fall seedings. Clay is often wet and difficult to work in spring. Fall-plantings on clay soils allow the seedlings to become established earlier in spring, before the clay dries out and restricts downward root growth. As with all prairie plantings, weeds must be completely eliminated prior to seeding. Most wildflowers exhibit higher germination rates in spring when fall seeded. Warm season prairie grasses typically show lower spring germination rates with fall seeding.

Fall Seeding on Erosion-prone Sites

Fall seeding on erosion-prone sites requires including a nurse crop for soil stabilization. Nurse crops of annual rye (15 lbs. per acre) or oats (128 lbs. per acre = 4 bushels per acre) must be planted by mid to late September to grow sufficiently to form a protective cover for the soil. The nurse crop will usually be winter killed, but the dead roots will continue to hold the soil over winter until spring when the prairie seeds germinate. Steep slopes should be covered with a light duty erosion control blanket containing either straw or a light layer of excelsior staked into place.

Site preparation is the single most important factor for success with wildflower plantings. The long-lived but slow-growing wildflowers and grasses are subject to intense competition from weeds in the first two years. Uncontrolled, weeds will compete for light and nutrients, slowing the growth of your flowers and grasses. Before planting, be sure to follow the Site Preparation Procedures.

We strongly recommend including native grasses in your meadow. Their dense root systems help to squeeze out the weeds, making the prairie meadow truly low maintenance. Grasses provide support for the wildflowers, as well as cover for birds. The grasses warm autumn colors of gold, orange and bronze extend the meadows interest well into winter. See Wildflower Selection Guide - Grasses for more information on the prairie grasses.

The North American Prairie evolved under the influence of fire. Started by lightning or by Native Americans, these fires kept out trees, recycled nutrients into the soil and stimulated growth of the wildflowers and grasses. Controlled burning on a two to three year rotation remains the best method for managing prairie plantings. Properly conducted, a controlled burn is safe, economical and can actually be fun!

Using fire as a management tool requires designing firebreaks into your landscape plan. A mowed grass strip 10 ft. wide or more can serve this purpose. Driveways, sidewalks, lawns, ponds and streams also make excellent firebreaks. Include firebreaks in your prairie design.

Do not plant your prairie next to conifers or other trees that are easily damaged by fire! Fireresistant native trees, such as bur oak, white oak and shagbark hickory can be scattered widely within your prairie. Including more than the occasional tree in a prairie is not recommended (one to two trees per acre). Most prairie plants grow best in full sun, and do poorly in shade. Birds will also perch in trees and drop seeds of trees, shrubs and other unwanted plants into your meadow. Be sure to mow around less fire tolerant trees in your prairie, and remove all flammable material before burning.

Mowing is an effective substitute when fire is not an option. Like burning, mowing helps control invading trees and shrubs. Mow everything right down to the soil level in midspring, and remove the cut material to mimic the effects of burning. This exposes the soil to the sun and favors the growth of the heat loving prairie plants.

Dividing your meadow into two or three management units encourages ecological diversity and landscape interest. Mowed grass trails provide access into your prairie, and double as firebreaks between management units. Burn or mow each management unit in rotation, every other year. The undisturbed plots will help preserve overwintering butterfly chrysalises, and provide spring nesting cover for birds. Each unit will respond differently to the management cycle. This creates changing patterns of wildflowers and prairie grasses within the same planting.

A prairie wildflower meadow represents a long-term investment in your landscape. With attention to planning your prairie meadow, and a little well-timed maintenance, you can create a beautiful easy-to-maintain landscape that will return to delight you year after year. And because you need no fertilizers or pesticides to maintain your prairie, its an investment that preserves the environment, while you save time and money!