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

Saturday - April 18, 2009
From: Fairfield, CT
Region: Northeast
Topic: Erosion Control, Grasses or Grass-like, Shrubs
Title: Non-allergenic landscape in Fairfield, CT
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
I live in Fairfield, CT and need to have a non-allergenic landscape. Can you please list plants, ground covers, and trees/shrubs that would be beautiful, and help in this critical situation? The landscape area is my front yard and happens to be a large steep slope. A very low maintenance landscape would be extremely helpful. Thank you.ANSWER:
We certainly understand your need for a non-allergenic landscape, but there really is no such thing. You could pave your property over, and when you stepped outside, the pollen from trees next door or hundreds of miles away would be in the air, and you have to breathe. As you no doubt already know, different people are sensitive to different things. Here in Central Texas, one of the biggest offenders is Juniperus ashei (Ashe's juniper), a native tree that grows everywhere. In the winter, beginning about Christmas, people who live in homes without any kind of yard can still have have runny noses, red eyes and miserable headaches, because the pollen is everywhere. And yet, did you know there are actually people not allergic to Toxicodendron radicans (eastern poison ivy)? Since we are gardeners, not allergists, we will refer you to some websites that have suggestions that might help. And we'll try to find some plants native to Connecticut that will address your steep slope, but beyond that, about all we can do is offer our sympathy. We sneeze all the time, too, and have learned that there is no "off" season for allergies.
Virginia Cooperative Extension Gardening and Your Health: Plant Allergens
yardsmarts How to Eliminate Plant Allergens in Your Yard
Fluvanna County (Virginia) Master Gardeners Plant Allergies
Another possible source of information closer to home is the University of Connecticut Extension Office for Fairfield County. They could have some more localized materials on plants native to your area that are known to be large producers of allergens, and what season is the worst.
A steep slope is always a challenge, even without the complications of allergies. Erosion is a big concern, and the most-recommended plant for erosion control is grasses. Grasses have long fibrous roots that grab and hold the soil, some of them are attractive year round, and require little mainenance. We realize that grasses are some of the biggest offenders to allergies, but many of the grasses cited as such are non-natives to North America. In addition to grasses, we chose some fairly low-growing shrubs, some of which will form thickets, that can help to stabilize your slope. Again, we avoided some of the plants known to produce a lot of allergens, like members of the Juniperus family. All of these plants are native not only to North America but to Connecticut, and are commercially available. If you have difficulty locating some chosen plants, go to our National Suppliers Directory, type in your town and state in the "Enter Search Location" box and you will get a list of native plant nurseries, seed suppliers and landscape and environment consultants.
Native shrubs for a slope in Connecticut
Comptonia peregrina (sweet fern)
Gaultheria procumbens (eastern teaberry)
Vaccinium macrocarpon (cranberry)
Grasses and grass-like plants
Bouteloua curtipendula (sideoats grama)
Bouteloua gracilis (blue grama)
Carex blanda (eastern woodland sedge)
Elymus canadensis (Canada wildrye)
More Grasses or Grass-like Questions
Ground cover for steep slope in Washington DC
May 07, 2010 - We have a steep slope in our garden in Washington DC which has sun from noon to sun set. Could you please recommend some low maintenance plants which would be a good ground cover and limit erosion?
view the full question and answer
Drainage pond plantings from Mason MI
April 23, 2012 - We have a drainage pond in our back yard. It has a large muddy bank and some steep sides where erosion has started to take its toll. We are looking for some Michigan/Mid-Western native plants that w...
view the full question and answer
Plants for a Steep Bank in Wisconsin
March 21, 2010 - We live on a lake with many white and red pines. The steep bank needs something not adversely affected by a buildup of pine needles to hold the sandy soil in place. The bank faces west and the pines ...
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
Problems for plants growing over closed loop field of geothermal system
October 22, 2008 - We would like to install a geothermal heating/cooling system on our Wisconsin property. Are there any environmental problems with the heat that is put back in the earth from a geothermal system? We ...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |