native plants

person bent over planting in garden

Fall: A Great Time for Native Planting

September 20, 2022

Cooler mornings, yellow-tinged leaves—the first signs of fall are in the air. As summer’s blooms begin to wane and the warm hues of goldenrods and grasses take their place, it may be tempting to pull out those blankets from the closet and make a cozy beverage. But late summer and early autumn can be one of the most effective—and pleasant—times of year to get outside and plant native perennials! We spoke with Jennifer Ehlert from Metro Blooms Design + Build and Marsha Frey from Mother Earth Gardens about some of the advantages of autumnal planting. 

A set-up for success

At this time of year, the soil is still warm, but plants no longer deal with the stress of hot temperatures. This triggers plants into moving their energy from their branches and leaves to their roots. “By planting in the fall, plants are going to focus more on developing their roots,” says Ehlert. A robust root network gives plants a strong foundation to survive through the winter and emerge well-established in the spring.

“It’s like a head start for spring-blooming plants,” says Frey. She advises planting at least 6 weeks before the ground freezes—and for spring ephemerals, the earlier, the better. To ensure that plants make it through the winter, Frey also advises making sure that spring-blooming plants being planted in the fall have visible root development in their pot. 

“Bee lawns are also really great to start in the fall,” says Frey. According to Frey, the three best times to plant grass seed are spring, fall, and early winter for dormant seeding before the first snow. If planting a bee lawn in the fall, the flowers and fescues will have enough time to germinate and develop roots before the ground freezes. 

Without the worry of hot spells and plants drying out, planting in fall also means less watering. “Once a plant is in the ground you don’t need to water as frequently in the fall,” says Frey, “but when you’re first planting it is important to water the pot and the hole well.” 

Should you mulch around newly planted plants to help retain moisture? Not fully right away, says Frey. “It’s helpful not to mulch until later in the season, because the warmth of the October sun will help plants with root development.” She suggests waiting to apply mulch until night temperatures start dropping to 32 degrees Fahrenheit and the ground starts to freeze. Otherwise, freeze-thaw cycles in the soil can cause plants to raise from the ground and puts them in danger of being killed by the cold. Incorporating ground cover like mulch, leaf litter, and other discarded plant material in your yard also provides important habitat for insects and other critters trying to make it through the winter.

Getting things started

Fall can be a good time for both starting a new project or refining an existing garden. Frey notes that because most plants are visible in late summer, it’s easy to assess a garden—where are there empty spots, or where might a short or tall plant be needed to make an area feel complete?

“Just getting everything ready to plant in the spring is fine, too,” says Frey, pointing out there are a lot of steps to projects like building a new rain garden. It takes time to set it all up—getting your soil amended, bringing in rocks, shaping the rain garden—and making plans in the fall can save time in the spring for doing the bulk of the labor.

man on knees planting garden

But if you’re eager to get some plants started in fall, where do you find them? “Native plants have become really popular, so nurseries can become out of stock of certain plants by the fall,” says Ehlert. “But then again, some things go on sale.” 

“Mother Earth Gardens carries 200 varieties of natives plants,” says Frey, “and by the fall we might have a hard time getting 20-30 of those.” But as Frey points out, there’s a reason why plant nurseries stay open through the fall—it’s still a great time to plant! If a nursery doesn’t carry a preferred variety, she says, you can always try an alternative or wait and leave a spot in your garden to plant in the spring. 

Once you have your plants in the ground, be ready to embrace the “natural” look. A fall rain garden or pollinator planting may not look as fresh and pristine as a spring one. “Some plants you pick may not look as good right now, and it doesn’t matter!” says Frey. “Plant it like planting any other beautiful green plant, because right now it’s all about taking care of the roots.” 

What to plant

Are there some native perennials that are better to plant in the fall compared to the spring?

Not necessarily, says Ehlert. “Some plants would just be more difficult to plant now.” For example, spring ephemerals like Virginia bluebells and bleeding hearts completely die back by fall, so it’s harder to source them this time of year. “I would also hesitate to plant larger shrubs or trees because their roots take longer to get established,” she adds.

But for everything else? “I always tell people to just go for it!” says Frey. “Fall is a great time to get started.” 

— Megan Reich, Marketing and Communications Specialist, Metro Blooms. Metro Blooms manages the Blue Thumb program.

Additional Resources

  • Mother Earth Gardens, provides 200 varieties of native plants throughout the growing season from May to October, seeds for native pollinator plants and bee lawns, compost, mulch, tools, books and other resources, and staff experts to help. Customers can also hire garden coaches or planners to come to your yard and work with your specific needs. Locations include South Minneapolis and Northeast Minneapolis.
  • Blue Thumb has a list of native plant nurseries in Minnesota. Blue Thumb’s How to Plant for Pollinators page has garden design templates, native plant lists, bee lawn guides, and more!
  • The Mississippi Watershed Management Organization has a blog post and video with detailed steps on putting your plants in the ground during fall.
  • The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has listings of native plant suppliers.

 

Shady yard with dry creek bed and plants

Native Plants That Grow in Maple Shade

April 11, 2022

Maple trees can be wonderful denizens of the urban landscape, growing quickly to provide shade in the summer and glorious colors in the fall. But many home gardeners are challenged by what to plant underneath their maple tree. Horticulturist and native plant enthusiast David Pierson, of Pierson Garden and Landscape, provides some ideas below.

Planting under the urban maple.  Bountiful gardens under a mature maple are rare due to the maple’s shallow roots, dense canopy, and excretions that hinder competing understory plants. While it’s difficult to find plants that thrive, here are some options for low-maintenance native plants that will grow under the urban maple tree.

Planting under the dense canopy of a maple

 

Hepatica Hepatica americana. Hepatica are adorable little pops of life that poke through last year’s leaf litter during early spring.  They grow and bloom before dense trees like maples can fully leaf out, and can even survive in the gaps between the shallow roots of a maple tree.  Although they are adorable, they do go dormant by mid-summer and they are difficult to find at common garden centers.

Penn sedge plugs on ground
Pennsylvania sedge

Pennsylvania sedge  Carex pensylvanica. Penn sedge is a light green mop of foliage that looks like angel-hair-pasta. This is the best choice for full shade to dappled sun in a dry urban yard.  Plant as transplants or small plugs, since starting from seed yields disappointing results.  Penn Sedge is ideal for mass planting and controlling erosion in the shade that won’t spread aggressively. [At Pierson, we included 1620 Penn sedge plants in a large erosion control project! Read more about it.]

Canada violet Viola canadensis. Canada violets form a spreading mass of green leaves in spring topped with little face-like white blossoms. This an excellent choice if you want an aggressive spreader in dense shade.  They will spread into neighboring areas if not well-contained and managed.  Deer eat the leaves and blooms.  Several Viola species can be started from either seed or plants and are widely available on the native market. Also, note  that other Violas are not as adaptable to full shade.

Planting at the edge of a maple’s canopy

 

Wild columbine
Wild columbine; by Rich Harrison

Columbine Aquilegia canadensis. Wild columbine emerges early in the growing season and forms intricate red blossoms that resemble hanging Chinese lanterns.  This is a good choice for planting by maples. The survival rate is lower when planted directly under a mature maple’s canopy, though it grows well in the dry soil at the edge of a tree.  It is common to see the first group of pollinators going nuts for columbine flowers!

Solomon’s seal Polygonatum biflorum. Solomon’s seal adds both height and drama to the shade garden, growing in a tall arching manner with bell-like flowers that form under the stem.   Because the roots are rhizomes, they can compete in the same soil as fibrous tree roots.  This  grows well planted at the edge of a maple’s canopy. Planting directly under the canopy yields mixed results.  Variegated-leaf (non-native plants) are also widely available for an added bi-color interest.

Maidenhair fern
Maidenhair fern

Ferns of many varieties grow well under a maple.  It is important to note that despite the wide variety, ferns are descendants of the tropics, a hot and wet environment.  When planted in a dry environment they tend to grow smaller and spread slower, so it is ideal to plant most ferns in a moist and warm location for optimal performance.  Ferns such as the ostrich fern, lady fern, and maidenhair fern, can survive in the dense shade of a maple. This is because ferns grow quickly during the moist spring and before trees completely leaf out.  They can be nearly full grown by the time the dense tree canopy fills in and starves them of light and rain. (Please note, too, that ostrich fern spreads very aggressively, so take care.)

 

 

David Pierson, of Pierson Garden and Landscape, is a horticulturist and native plant enthusiast

 

 

American Goldfinch on thistle

American Goldfinch: Joy on Thistles and Quilts

December 21, 2021

The following essay is by environmental educator Nick Voss, Education & Outreach Coordinator at the Vadnais Lake Area Water Management Organization. Photo by Nick Voss.

The American Goldfinch is a common neighborhood bird, familiar to many as a cheery visitor who’s happy to munch on an offering of birdseed. When paying a visit, they often announce their “po-ta-to-chip” call when flying overhead. But why has the goldfinch taken so kindly to parks and yards, and what does it do when there’s no feeder around? Today we’ll take a closer look at our friendly neighborhood goldfinch, and perhaps glean some insights on why it has such a cheery reputation. 

The American Goldfinch has a large nesting range from central Canada to the southern U.S, and winters along the Gulf Coast, into the Southwest, and south into Mexico. In the summer months, goldfinches are one of the latest nesting songbirds. Their patience to wait until late June–early July to lay eggs allows their primary food source — seeds —to be more plentiful and accessible. This reduces flight time for foraging, and saves valuable energy when raising their young. 

Yet goldfinches can still be a common sight in a Minnesota winter, as long as they have access to open water, plenty of seeds, and temperatures above zero degrees Fahrenheit. Like the American Robin, goldfinches can act as a local migrant, dipping just south enough into the central US when it’s really needed. To keep warm, goldfinches have been known to burrow in the snow or roost with birds of other species. 

A goldfinch’s favorite habitat includes grassy fields, forest edges, and open floodplains. These are spots where dense, shrubby, and seedy vegetation grows in the abundance of sunlight. Alders, birch, asters, coneflowers, and grasses such as big and little bluestem all bear delicious seeds for goldfinches, but their favorite food is often thought to be thistles. Pockets of dense vegetation are valuable for food and shelter, but they also make a home for spiders. While goldfinch don’t eat spiders, they use spider silk to fasten their nests to branches and twigs. Small rootlets, fluffy thistledown, and other plant fibers are woven into goldfinch nests so tight that they’ve been known to temporarily hold water. Gardeners and bird enthusiasts who are looking to not only attract goldfinches with a feeder but also recruit a regular nesting pair would do well to provide a pocket of dense, high-standing vegetation with a shrub or tree nearby. 

Goldfinches have been neighbors to gardens and pastures for generations. As our ancestors have watched and observed them, were they just projecting joyful traits onto their sunny feathers? Or are these birds, in whatever sense, actually joyful? 

All over the world, small seed-eating finches have accompanied open fields and crops for centuries. I can’t help but wonder if in the days of olde, perhaps one of my own ancestors was a farmer. Perhaps they were having a bad day and noticed a pair of European goldfinches. A farmer in the 18th or 19th century would likely have a keen understanding of the crop and any encroaching “weeds.” Goldfinches would have spent the bulk of their time on these uncultivated plants, particularly thistles and weeds —weeds that could actually be hindering a crop or showing nature’s unforgiving side. Surely to see admiration among finches would require overlooking their stubborn food source. Maybe some farmers chose not to make the leap altogether. How can I really say? Today, thistles are a bane to most any gardener, quickly yanked out and subject to complaints. Chances are even you, the reader, have accidentally brushed up against a thistle in mid-July, cursing at the sting. 

Yet the joyful sentiments of the goldfinch have lasted the test of time. Many a mug, quilt, puzzle, and the like are adorned with images of goldfinches perched on pink thistle flowers. Unlike this crusty and defensive plant, goldfinches have carried a sunny disposition for generations. Perhaps it’s that they’re known to not even fight back when preyed upon by cats, hawks, or weasels. Yet there they sing, there they bounce above the trees with a waving flight pattern, chittering on the upswing. 

Surely our ancestors from all corners of the world have noticed these contrasts and paradoxes in nature, and perhaps from them, found sparks of inspiration. The ancient landscape was ripe with struggle, but could it also be ripe with joy? When I picture the joy of my ancestors I get a vision of a deep and grounded joy. Seasoned by struggle and hard lessons learned, yet a testament to their resilience and survival and essentially the reason I get to be observing goldfinches today. 

Ross Gay provides a wonderfully simple summary of this paradox. In his Book of Delights he writes: “What if we joined our sorrows, I’m saying. I’m saying: What if that is joy?” 

Today we know well the sorrow that spans across the landscape; personal tragedies, public health crises, a reckoning with injustices of the past and present, political turmoil, climate change, and all the rest. In such a world, harsh, prickly sentiments can be as abundant as a thistle’s thorns. Perhaps this is when joy is singing out like a goldfinch to be more than surface level. When goldfinch quilts aren’t just cute home decor but a reminder that in the face of absurdity and sorrow, our ancestors also chose joy. 

— Nick Voss, nick.voss@vlawmo.org

Evolution of a Yard: Conventional Turf to All Native Plants

August 23, 2021

For Dana Boyle, a Twin Cities metro resident, a Lawns to Legumes grant was part of a yard transformation which had been percolating over several years, and which she writes about below. We visited Dana and asked her some questions about her project. In the following video links, she talks about how she converted her lawn to Pennsylvania sedge and some of the ideas used in the design of her pollinator gardens. Her yard attracts hummingbirds, butterflies and bees — including, this year,  the endangered rusty patched bumble bee. Photos courtesy of Dana Boyle.

Video Links

The Lawns to Legumes program provides cost-share grants to Minnesota residents to create pollinator habitat in their yards. It comes through the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources.

A Yard Evolves

by Dana Boyle

Volunteering as a Minnesota Master Naturalist in the Blue Thumb booth at the MN State Fair several years ago planted the seed for this project. Then I read Douglas Tallamy’s book, Bringing Nature Home, which I learned about at a Wild Ones conference. It also helped to see a neighbor’s pollinator garden to know that shifting to pollinator plants was doable. Once the idea marinated, I became committed to change and moved from a turf yard to a native one.

The first year, I focused on the “margins” of my front yard. With the design help of my friend (and landscape architect) Diane Hilscher, I carved out turf and replaced it with flowering native plants and grasses. I made sure to edge that section in stone to show that it was intentional. The next year, I hired Douglas Owens-Pike to come up with a design that would allow us to rip out the remaining turf and replace it with native Pennsylvania sedge plugs. To enhance the look, he designed stone pathways and installed a front-yard vegetable garden. As an added benefit, I was given a Lawns to Legumes grant. 

The whole project was unorthodox for my neighborhood, which has a homeowners association with stringent covenants. This required a thoughtful approach, on my end, to gain the approval of our association board. They had questions and concerns but ultimately gave conditional approval to move forward.

The main front yard work was done last summer and, already, the yard looks lush and healthy — despite the intensely hot and dry summer. I know that some people in the neighborhood were initially thrown by the difference of my yard, but it seems from comments this year that they’re okay with it, now that the sedges have grown together to create a more uniform look. Others — especially younger homeowners and those with kids — were enthusiastically supportive from the start. It’s ever clearer that this is about changing culture, and that takes time and a gentle but firm hand in leading that within a conventional context.

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Additional Resources