Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Goody, we love new gardeners. First, we want you to know that we recommend only plants native not only to North America but to the area in which those plants grow naturally. We'll introduce you to our Native Plant Database and give you some help finding your way around it and learning how to use the information. The meaning of this is that Phenix City, Russell County, AL, on the southeast border with Georgia, USDA Hardiness Zones 7b to 8a, needs  plants that will grow there without extra use of resources such as fertilizer and water. We are going to help you find them.

For your first lesson, we have several articles we would like you to read, so we can all feel like we are on the same page, so to speak.

Using Native Plants

When is a Guest a Pest?

A Guide to Native Plant Gardening

Under Cover with Mulch

Before we go any further, we want to warn you that tilling up that "just dirt" is going to bring many, many weed seeds up to the surface, all ready for the Spring rains and a nice fresh place to grow. If you haven't tilled yet, but still intend to, may we suggest you till in a few bags of good organic compost as you go. No, this won't keep the weeds down, nothing but persistent pulling does that, but it will help with drainage in the soil and make it easier for tiny new rootlets to access nutrients.

So, we begin on your garden. Go to Recommended Species and click on Alabama on the map. This will give you a list of 118 different plants that are native to and recommended for Alabama. Obviously, you don't want to wade through all those plants to make your selections, so we'll show you how to narrow the choices and find just the right plant. On the sidebar on the right-hand side of that page, click on the type of plant you are searching for under General Appearance. We will start with "herb" (herbaceous blooming plants) and also indicate "sun" under Light Requirements, and Narrow Your Choice. We consider sun to be 6 or more hours of sun a day, part shade 2 to 6 hours of sun, and shade, less than 2 hours. So, if you are looking for plants for another spot later, you will know to search on something besides full sun, if that is the case. Okay, we picked "herbs", clicked on Narrow Your Search and got 13 choices. For our example, we chose Echinacea purpurea (Eastern purple coneflower), a perennial growing 2-5 ft. tall, blooms pink, purple April to September, requires sun or part shade. You can follow the plant link to our page on that plant and learn what kind of soils it likes, the benefits, propagation instructions, and so forth. You can do the same sort of thing with other forms of plants, so let's check a couple more for practice.

How about some shrubs on that slope? Using the same method, we found 9 shrubs that are recommended, and chose Morella cerifera (Wax myrtle), evergreen, to 12 ft. tall, fragrant foliage, sun or part shade, attracts birds. Last trial run, let's talk native grasses. If you have a slope, you are going to need something to retain that slope and control erosion. There is nothing better for that than native grasses. Their long fibrous roots will hold the soil, they are attractive as well as beneficial. Of the 4 grasses recommended for Alabama, we chose Andropogon gerardii (Big bluestem), a perennial, sun or part shade, acidic soil. You can go to our Native Plant Database and find lots more plants of each type; just be sure to read all the specifications for each.

From our Native Plant Image Gallery:

Echinacea purpurea

Morella cerifera

Andropogon gerardii