Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Share

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.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
Not Yet Rated

Saturday - November 28, 2015

From: River Falls, WI
Region: Midwest
Topic: Plant Lists, Pollinators, Erosion Control, Herbs/Forbs
Title: Hillside Groundcovers for Pollinating Insects in Wisconsin
Answered by: Anne Van Nest

QUESTION:

I am looking for native plants for a project around Hudson, Wisconsin. We are to choose native plants to be seeded next spring 2016. They are to be planted on a hillside under and around solar panels (partial shade and 0-2 feet tall). It must provide vegetation for pollinating insects and look appealing. since on hillside, must control soil erosion and low-maintenance, meaning does not require frequent mowing. preferably perennials. Any suggestion will help greatly?

ANSWER:

There are many native, perennial plants that should work well under and around your solar panels on your hillside that will also be a habitat for pollinating insects, control soil erosion and be low maintenance. 

A search through the Native Plant Database on our website produced these for you to investigate (a few low shrubs are also included):

Antennaria plantaginifolia (plantain-leaf pussytoes)

Anaphalis margaritacea (Western pearly evelasting)

Aquilegia canadensis (Eastern red columbine)

Coreopsis lanceolata (lanceleaf coreopsis)

Fragaria virginiana (Virginia strawberry)

Geum triflorum (old man's whiskers)

Glandularia bipinnatifida (purple prairie verbena)

Lobelia spicata (palespike lobelia)

Mitchella repens (partridgeberry)

Phlox subulata (creeping phlox)

Potentilla simplex (common cinquefoil)

Solidago nemoralis (gray goldenrod)

Rubus pubescens (dwarf red blackberry)

Tradescantia occidentalis (prairie spiderwort)

Viola pubescens (downy yellow violet)

Each plant webpage has information about growing conditions, sources and plant characteristics.

 

From the Image Gallery


Woman's tobacco
Antennaria plantaginifolia

Western pearly everlasting
Anaphalis margaritacea

Lanceleaf coreopsis
Coreopsis lanceolata

Virginia strawberry
Fragaria virginiana

Old man's whiskers
Geum triflorum

Prairie verbena
Glandularia bipinnatifida var. bipinnatifida

Pale-spike lobelia
Lobelia spicata

Creeping phlox
Phlox subulata

Gray goldenrod
Solidago nemoralis

Dwarf red blackberry
Rubus pubescens

Prairie spiderwort
Tradescantia occidentalis

Downy yellow violet
Viola pubescens

More Pollinators Questions

Failure of hybridized red hollies to grow
April 17, 2008 - I have 2 red hollies planted in my yard about 20' apart, 3 years now. They won't grow. Do I need to have a male with them?
view the full question and answer

Hummingbird Bushes for Broken Arrow OK
August 27, 2014 - I am looking for bushes that attract hummingbirds. I live in Broken Arrow, OK. Can you recommend some?
view the full question and answer

Cultivars off native plants attracting pollinators from Fairfax VA
March 25, 2011 - When trying to create a native garden/habitat- should you avoid using cultivars of the native plant? Nurseries around us keep trying to tell us that using a cultivar of the native plant we actually wa...
view the full question and answer

Pollinating Pawpaws
February 06, 2013 - We have many good sized pawpaw trees in our area but they never bear any fruit. I've checked them at different times in the fall over the years but no fruit. Someone told me that the flowers were po...
view the full question and answer

Making a pollinator garden
August 11, 2014 - Hello, I have a ditch right by my house and I want to turn it into a pollinator garden using native plants. My problem is, right now it's so full of weeds that we have to mow those down so soon. For ...
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.