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

Sunday - August 19, 2012
From: Fairview, NC
Region: Southeast
Topic: Erosion Control, Grasses or Grass-like, Herbs/Forbs, Wildflowers
Title: Slope Erosion control for Fairview NC
Answered by: Larry Larson
QUESTION:
Please recommend plants to help with soil erosion on a slope. The soil is red clay and area gets full sun. The slope is approximately 12' x 12'. I live in Fairview, NCANSWER:
That’s a small area! As a general approach, the best plants to stabilize a slope and prevent erosion are plants like grasses that have fibrous root systems and shrubs and perennials that spread with runners to form thickets. For that area, one or two shrubs at most would fit.
Here are two previous answers that will give you an idea of some choices. This one is a very similar earlier question about a NC creek bank. This one concerns erosion control near Charlotte.
From those two messages we can recommend these grasses for full sun and clay soil: Andropogon glomeratus (Bushy bluestem), Carex texensis (Texas sedge), Schizachyrium scoparium (Little bluestem), Sorghastrum nutans (Indiangrass)
I also like to scan native plants that might add for this specific situation in addition to those suggested previously. Here is a link to the North Carolina Collection, these collections are lists of natives to your aea that can be sorted for certain characteristics. Here is a selection of wildflowers; these should help anchor the slope while also adding some seasonal color:
Coreopsis tinctoria (Plains coreopsis)
Baptisia australis (Blue wild indigo)
Conoclinium coelestinum (Blue mistflower)
Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal flower)
Monarda fistulosa (Wild bergamot)
From the Image Gallery
More Wildflowers Questions
Preparation of seeds of Cosmos parviflorus for planting
July 21, 2014 - This is in regards to Cosmos Parviflorus. I reside directly outside of Big Bend National Park in Terlingua, TX. Cosmos Parviflorus grows naturally here and I have collected some seeds from a couple of...
view the full question and answer
More on bluebonnets
May 12, 2005 - My bluebonnet plants have seed pods (I guess they are, they look like pods of snap peas). Can I collect these or do I just leave them alone and hope they multiply? If I can collect them, what is the ...
view the full question and answer
Smarty Plants on Virginia crownbeard
January 29, 2005 - I recently moved to the Hill Country and notice some "weeds" that seemed to into explode into ice formations when the temperature first fell below freezing. Can you tell me the name of this plant an...
view the full question and answer
Color of Englemann's daisy (Engelmannia peristenia)
April 11, 2010 - I'm in Austin and just bought some Engelmann's Daisies at the plant sale on Fri. The picture had them with white petals, and your plant database has them with yellow petals. I specifically wanted wh...
view the full question and answer
What happened to the bluebonnets?
June 09, 2008 - I was wondering if you could tell me why there weren't any bluebonnets out this year? I live in the Hill Country and drive to Austin everyday. I look forward to seeing the bluebonnets up and down the...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |