Explore Plants
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.
Can't find the answer in our existing FAQs, submit a question to Mr. Smarty Plants.
Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.
rate this answer
Monday - April 18, 2011
From: Huntington, NY
Region: Northeast
Topic: Grasses or Grass-like
Title: Plants for a sandy slope in NY
Answered by: Anne Bossart
QUESTION:
I can really use your help. I have a steep very, very sandy slope I need to plant to stop the erosion. It gets sun from 9:00 to 2:00. I plan on adding an irrigation system in the area. Planting is going to be a real challenge. Please help identify plants that will work under these conditions. Thank you in advance.ANSWER:
You do have your work cut out for you. Even though you are planning to install an irrigation system, you will have very rapid drainage resulting in dry conditions (not to mention a potentially huge water bill) so your best bet is to plant drought tolerant grasses whose fibrous root systems will hold the slope and the moisture. There are also a number of wildflowers (perennials) and shrubs native to your area that will not only survive, but even thrive in your conditions.
You can generate lists of those plants by visiting our Native Plant Database and performing a Combination Search. Select: New York/the plant type (grasses, herbaceous plants, shrubs for three different lists)/dry conditions/part shade. You can narrow the search further by choosing different bloom times and colors. The plant names on the lists are linked to information pages that will give you more detail about each plant as well as photos. Then all you have to do is go shopping!
Here are some recommendations of plants we think will do well in your situation:
Grasses
Bouteloua curtipendula (Sideoats grama)
Panicum virgatum (Switchgrass)
Schizachyrium scoparium (Little bluestem)
Sorghastrum nutans (Indiangrass)
Perennials
Aquilegia canadensis (Eastern red columbine)
Centaurea americana (American basket-flower)
Coreopsis lanceolata (Lanceleaf coreopsis)
Echinacea purpurea (Eastern purple coneflower)
Liatris aspera var. intermedia (Intermediate rough gayfeather)
Monarda fistulosa (Wild bergamot)
Oenothera fruticosa ssp. glauca (Narrowleaf evening-primrose)
Rudbeckia hirta (Black-eyed susan)
Solidago canadensis (Canada goldenrod)
Shrubs
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (Kinnikinnick)
Ceanothus americanus (New jersey tea)
Comptonia peregrina (Sweet fern)
Physocarpus opulifolius (Atlantic ninebark)
Rhus aromatica (Fragrant sumac)
Symphoricarpos orbiculatus (Coralberry)
You should be able to create an attractive mixed planting which will be quite tolerant of your conditions once established, and will offer wildlife habitat benefits as well.
Here are some photos from our Image Gallery:
More Grasses or Grass-like Questions
Transplanting Muhly grass in late summer from Wimberley TX
August 02, 2012 - Can I transplant Muhly grass in July/August?
view the full question and answer
Drought-resistant plants for Paradise, California
January 23, 2009 - We are moving to a new home in Paradise, CA. What drought resistant plants do well in Paradise ?
Thank you !!
view the full question and answer
Plants for 100 gal. pot by pool from Ft. Worth TX
June 23, 2012 - What North Texas evergreen — or combination of evergreen plants, bushes or trees — could thrive in a huge, 100-gallon clay pot (immovable!) that is situated in full sun year round in an exposed area n...
view the full question and answer
Replacing St. Augustine with native grasses in San Antonio
November 04, 2009 - I am hoping to replace St. Augustine on a sloped yard with native grass. I was wondering where I might get information on the prairie grass seed mats used by the TXDOT highway dept to stop erosion.
...
view the full question and answer
Wildflower meadow for birds
September 19, 2008 - I put in a wildflower feed plot for the song birds 3 years ago. We prepared the bed by first using Round Up to kill all the grass then lightly tilled to scratch the surface and planted the wildflower ...
view the full question and answer
 |
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. Mr. Smarty Plants wants you to be his Facebook friend. Click the Facebook icon to add yourself to Mr. Smarty Plants list of friends. |
