Native Plants
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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
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Saturday - November 30, 2013
From: Naperville, IL
Region: Midwest
Topic: Wildlife Gardens, Grasses or Grass-like, Shrubs, Trees
Title: Wildlife and bird friendly hedgerow for Chicago suburb
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Want to plant a wildlife/bird friendly hedgerow in suburban Chicago. Looking for a recommended mix of understory trees as well a shrubs and grasses. Site is part shade with average to wet soil and transitions to a mature Oak/Hickory woodland. Length is 100' x 20'wide.ANSWER:
Mr. Smarty Plants suggests that you visit our Recommended Species page to choose Illinois from the map to find the Illinois Recommended list of commercially available native plants suitable for landscaping in your state. The list contains more than 170 species which include trees, shrubs, herbs, etc. You can limit the list by using the NARROW YOUR SEARCH option in the sidebar and choosing the type of plant you are interested in from General Appearance, Light Requirement, Soil Moisture, etc. Here are a few selections from this list:
Shrubs or Small Tree
Amorpha fruticosa (Indigo bush)
Cornus racemosa (Gray dogwood)
Rhus aromatica (Fragrant sumac)
Corylus americana (American hazelnut)
Vaccinium angustifolium (Late lowbush blueberry)
Grasses
Andropogon gerardii (Big bluestem)
Bouteloua curtipendula (Sideoats grama)
Elymus canadensis (Canada wild rye)
Panicum virgatum (Switchgrass)
Sorghastrum nutans (Indiangrass)
You can find more possibilities by performing your own search in the Illinois Recommended list. On each species page you can scroll down the page to the BENEFIT section to see what wildlife makes use of the plant.
From the Image Gallery
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