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.
From: Madison, WI
Region: Midwest
Topic: General Botany, Drought Tolerant, Erosion Control
Title: Plants for a hillside in WI
Answered by: Anne Bossart
There really aren't any books that address this issue for your area specifically, but there are a couple of things to consider when planting on a slope.
The most obvious is the daily and seasonal differences in light exposure (and thus air and soil temperatures) on the north and south sides. So the plant communities on the south side will be adapted to sunnier, warmer conditions (and a longer growing season) than on the north. The other thing to consider is drainage. Both water and cool air (and sometimes soil and nutrients) flow freely downhill resulting in tough and often dry growing conditions. That is why you often see plants thriving on a hillside wedged in a crack or between a couple of rocks. That is where water runs to and collects and organic matter a gets trapped, providing nutrients for the plant. Once a plant gains a foothold it can sustain itself by improving the soil conditions within its root zone.
In order to find a listing of plants that would be adapted to hillside conditions you can visit our Native Plant Database. If you do a Combination Search for Wisconsin and select dry soil conditions you can create lists of plants of differents types for the north and south sides. Each plant name on the lists is linked to a detailed information page with images. Plants with fibrous root systems, like grasses and plants that spread by stolons do well on hillsides and help prevent erosion.
An internet search for hillside plant communities produces a number of articles on your subject and there is an interesting Q & A article on the Kenosha extension service website that you might find helpful.
Need recommendations for native plants on a dry sunny hillside in Baltimore Maryland.
July 28, 2009 - Need native recommendations for sunny, dry hillside for ground cover or shrub in Maryland. Mowing the grass is a pain and an energy waster (and I don't want to be tempted to extend some adjacent exi...
view the full question and answer
Erosion control near creek in Kansas City, MO
July 26, 2008 - I'm looking for something to plant to help stop erosion on my property. The spot I have in mind is on a slight natural grade heading toward the creek at the back of my property. Any ideas on what t...
view the full question and answer
Low growing erosion control plants for lakeside in Washington Township NJ
May 12, 2013 - I live on a small lake in Northern NJ and have installed beautiful Boulders along the water to help stop erosion. Now I want to add plants along the property but would like low growing, soil retentio...
view the full question and answer
Plants for Erosion Control on Lake Bank in Wahpetan,IA
September 20, 2010 - We have a steep 15 to 20 foot high bank on the glacial formed lake, West Okoboji. We are experiencing erosion and would like a solution to prevent further erosion. We have wild roses, sumac, wild qui...
view the full question and answer
Erosion control for steep slope in West Virginia
October 05, 2008 - I live in Zone 6 (Eastern Panhandle of WV). I have a rocky, claylike steep slope (30-40% grade, about 50 feet wide and 20 feet long, it sits in the afternoon sun). So I need to plant erosion-control p...
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. |