Native Plants
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.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Wednesday - August 26, 2009
From: Charleston, WV
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Erosion Control
Title: Erosion control in Charleston WV
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
I live in Charleston, WV and just purchased a home that has a hill side out back that has some erosion occurring. I was wondering what would be the best ground cover to plant in my area to control the soil erosion? Editor's Note: After this question was answered and published, we received an additional question via e-mail: "Thank you for answering my question. I used the search tool that you suggested and found some grasses that should be beautiful around my house and seem to be able to remedy my problem! The hill side I have an erosion problem with is a pretty large area, roughly 200'x100', so would it be best if I used multiple types of grasses to control the erosion or should I just stick to one type of grass?" We have added our answer to the second question below.ANSWER:
The best ground cover for erosion control in any area is grasses native to that area. These are not going to be the "mowing type" grasses, but taller, ornamental grasses. They can be cut back to about 6 inches in the Spring, and they are mostly self-propagating from both roots and self-seeding. The long fibrous roots of the grasses will grab onto the soil and keep it from eroding, and help to hold moisture and nutrition in the soil where it's needed. We will go to our Native Plant Database, go down to "Combination Search," search on West Virginia, and "Grasses or grasslike plants" under habit and then click on "Submit Combination Search." You didn't say if you had sun or shade on your slope, so we will select some grasses that would suit one or the other or both. We will also check to make sure these grasses are native in and around Kanawha County, so we know they are adapted to the soils and climate. You can use the same technique to make your own selections, possibly adding in Light Requirements or Soil Moisture in the specifications you select.
Answer to second question: Oh, absolutely, more than one variety. The last thing you want is a monoculture, I don't care of what. You would get a variety in textures, colors, even between the deciduous and the evergreen, The first one from our original list we would recommend is the Chasmanthium latifolium (Inland sea oats). I'm always happy when I'm doing a grass question (usually an erosion question) and inland sea oats happens to grow in the area where the customer gardens. But I sure would go also with the Elymus canadensis (Canada wildrye) with those great plumes, the Hordeum jubatum (foxtail barley) with the foxtails, and at least one of the bluestems, or maybe both Andropogon gerardii (big bluestem) and Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem) for height and verticality. How neat to have that much space to put all those gorgeous grasses in. It's nice to hear from a satisfied customer on that kind of question.
Grasses for Erosion Control in Charleston WV
Andropogon gerardii (big bluestem) - 4 to 8 ft. tall, warm season perennial bunchgrass, medium water use, sun or part shade
Carex stipata (owlfruit sedge) - perennial sedge, 2 to 3 ft. tall, medium water use, sun
Chasmanthium latifolium (Inland sea oats) - 2 to 4 ft., clump-forming perennial, medium water use, part shade or shade
Elymus canadensis (Canada wildrye) - cool-season grass, 2 to 4 ft. tall, medium water use, sun or part shade
Elymus villosus (hairy wildrye) - 3 to 6 ft. tall
Hordeum jubatum (foxtail barley) - 1 to 3 ft. tall, perennial
Muhlenbergia schreberi (nimblewill) - 1 to 3 ft. perennial, part shade or shade
Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem) - 15 to 24 inches tall, low water use, sun or part shade
From our Native Plant Image Gallery
More Erosion Control Questions
Plants for a property near a conservation area in MD
July 18, 2011 - Can you tell me what native plants and the type of landscaping that would be good to plant in front of a forest conservation area that is on a steep hill behind our future house? It is located in Manc...
view the full question and answer
Groundcover to prevent erosion in Florida
November 04, 2012 - I live on a hill and put in a new side driveway and now I am seeing erosion along the driveway and can see the bottom of my concrete. Grass won't grow because its all shaded. What would be the best g...
view the full question and answer
Erosion Control in a Mid-Atlantic Shoreline
April 09, 2012 - My family owns a riverfront property off of Machodoc Creek which runs into the Potomac on the Virginia side. The water is roughly 3 feet deep at the shoreline and concrete cylinders are used to contro...
view the full question and answer
Plants to prevent riverbank erosion in VA
March 05, 2011 - Looking for a plant to prevent erosion on a riverbank on the Rappahannock River in Virginia. Prefer something low, bank is a bit steep for regular mowing but could be mowed infrequently. Riverbank h...
view the full question and answer
Plants for steep clay bank in Summerfield OH
April 07, 2012 - Hello, We have a steep 15-20 foot high bank behind our house here in southern Ohio. Probably 50 ft.long. What could we plant for beauty and erosion control. It is nasty clay soil with lots of shale an...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |