Erosion Control Mix for Dry Soils

Cultural Details
Soil Type	Loam, Sand
Soil Moisture	Dry
Sun Exposure	Full Sun
Height	1' - 8'
Seeding Rate	12 Lbs per Acre

Description

Erosion control mixes make use of deep-rooted perennials that establish quickly to hold the soil on steep slopes. For well-drained sandy, gravelly and rocky soils, the Erosion Control Seed Mix for Dry Soils is designed to provide rapid vegetative cover and long-term soil stabilization, with a high ratio of native grasses and plenty of fast-growing prairie flowers. Annual Rye nurse crop is included for rapid green-up.

Note: Always apply the appropriate grade of erosion mat on areas subject to water erosion. Seeded areas that are not subject to erosion will benefit from a cover of clean straw applied at a rate of 1.5 to 2.0 tons per acre. This helps retain soil moisture, and increases seed germination and plant survival. Contains at least 15 wildflowers and 5 or more grasses, plus Annual Rye.

Establishment Notes

Important. Native seed mixes take three years to fully mature. In the first year, seedlings will expend their energy developing roots, and the plants may grow only an inch or two. During the first two years your site will require mowing to control weed growth. After two or three season the natives will begin to reign. The process requires patience, but even more important is to discourage the growth of weeds during the establishment – the first three to four years. Read our Seed Mix Establishment Guide to learn more about growing a prairie from seed.

Pure Live Seed Notes

All of our seed is sold on a Pure Live Seed (PLS) basis. A PLS pound is the weight of seed required to equal one pound of 100% pure, germinable seed. This is calculated based upon each seed lot's purity and germination tests. Our seed is tested by an independent seed lab for purity and germination, using industry standard testing procedures. We track the ecotype origin of our seed inventory and provide this information at customer request.

Shipping

SEED SHIPPING

Shipping rates for seeds
Seed orders are shipped year-round, and are shipped within a week of your order.

GENERAL SHIPPING INFORMATION

We are not able to combine a new order with a previous order, for shipping.
Plants and Seeds are shipped separately and have different shipping rates.
We are not able to arrange orders for pick-up at the Nursery. All orders are shipped.

RESTRICTIONS

Plants and Seeds are shipped within the contiguous United States, only.
Due to agricultural restrictions we no longer ship to the following states: Idaho, Utah, Oregon

Components

Wildflowers

Smooth Aster

Lanceleaf Coreopsis

Purple Prairie Clover

Pale Purple Coneflower

Grasses Sedges

Annual Rye Nurse Crop Seed

Questions (3)

Product Questions

Does this seed mix require stratification?

If you are seeding a prairie seed mix in the fall, pre-treatment (stratification) is not needed, as the seeds will be exposed to cold, damp conditions in the soil over winter. 1. Prairie grass seeds do not require moist stratification (cool moist pre-treatment). Only dry stratification (cool dry pre-treatment) is needed to improve the germination of prairie grasses. The grass seeds that you receive from us have been dry statified (stored in cool dry storage).
2. Most prairie flowers (forbs) will benefit from moist stratification. Some species will exhibit little-to-no germination without mosit stratification, while others will germinate at lower percentages. Many forbs germinate well with only dry stratification (Purple Coneflower, Yellow Coneflower, Purple Prairie Clover, Lanceleaf Coreopsis, Bergamot, Black Eyed Susan, and Brown Eyed Susan). However, moist stratification can be applied to all prairie seeds, whether or not they require it.
3. As a rule of thumb, if you are seeding a prairie in the spring, it is best to moist stratify the forbs for at least 30 days, for the best germination.

I have a question regarding erosion control. We are seeding a slope on a lake, using your short prairie mix, with cover crop of oats. Looking for recommendation on covering -- will a curlex fiber blanket be too much cover or should we use double side straw matting?

We have had good results with the “Curlex 1” excelsior erosion blanket. A light duty straw blanket works well, too.

Do the seeds that need stratification come already having gone through this process? If not, how are the different seed varieties separated so this can be done?

Our native seeds are Dry Stratified, which means that they are stored in cold temperatures over winter, without the presence of moisture. This process helps increase germination rates in most prairie grasses, and for some of the wildflowers. None of our seed is Moist Stratified prior to being shipped – a process in which the seed is mixed with a larger volume of dampened inert material such as fresh clean sawdust, builder’s sand, or similar substance, and placed in a refrigerator inside a Ziploc bag. Most prairie flowers and native sedges and rushes will show significant increases in germination after 30 days of moist, cold treatment. Some genera, such as Baptisia, Iris, and the grass genus Spartina, require 90 days or longer to show improvements in germination. Seed mixes sold in quantities of ten pounds or more are packaged individually by each species. If the quantity sold is less than ten pounds, we pack the seed in three separate bags: wildflowers, “fluffy” grasses, and hard round grasses such as Prairie Dropseed and Switchgrass. If you plan to broadcast your seed mix in the fall, all seed species will acheive moist stratification naturally, over the winter. You will not need to pretreat the seed for a fall seeding. If you plan to broadcast a seed mix in the spring, the seed (germination rates) will benefit from being moist stratified prior to seeding. If combined, the different wildflower species in your seed mix package can be moist stratified together. The median number of days to moist stratify should be sufficient.

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