Native Plants

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Thursday - October 01, 2009

From: Plattsmouth, NE
Region: Midwest
Topic: Vines
Title: Native trailing plant for Nebraska
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

I live in the tall grass prairie area of Eastern Nebraska and am working on some prairie restoration and native plantings. I have just put in a limestone retaining wall and would like to find a native trailing plant that would grow over this wall. Any ideas. Thanks in advance.

ANSWER:

Congratulations and good luck on your restoration project. You can do a COMBINATION SEARCH in out Native Plant Database, choosing 'Nebraska' from the Select State or Province option and 'Vine' from Habit (general appearance) category to see a variety of choices for vines or trailing plants. You could plant the vines at the bottom of the retaining wall to climb up the wall or at the top to trail down the wall. Here are a few choices from that list:

Mahonia repens (creeping barberry) for part shade

Clematis virginiana (devil's darning needles)

Clematis pitcheri (bluebill)

Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)

You might also consider one of the Rubus sp. [blackberry, raspberry, dewberry—e.g., Rubus flagellaris (northern dewberry) or Rubus idaeus ssp. strigosus (grayleaf red raspberry)]. Although they aren't officially listed as vines in our Native Plant Database, they would trail down the wall and provide fruit for wildlife and for you as well.

Mahonia repens

Clematis virginiana

Clematis pitcheri

Parthenocissus quinquefolia

Rubus flagellaris