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grasses / carex salt and drought tolerant
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Posted by carolineridge Washington (My Page) on Wed, Nov 12, 08 at 11:21
Hello,
I have an oceanfront property in the Pacific Northwest, south facing. Picture attached. I am wanting to establish some ground cover for the steep slope which is made up of sand and gravel. Currently there is ivy growing over the slope (it doesn't root into the slope) it is not the best but it does protect the bank from rain erosion. Any grasses that might take?
Also I would like to establish some growth around and over the Gabions. The challenges are: very little organic material in the gabions. I was think of putting some willows and alders at the base of the slope which would eventually create a cover over the gabions and I was also think about some grasses/carex to grow around the gabions. The soil, if you can call it that, is wet all year from water seeping down the slope, except during the dry summer months (July and August) when the plants would need to be drought tolerant.
It is a challenge - any advise would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: grasses / carex salt and drought tolerant
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| I'd consider blue wheatgrass/magellan grass, Elymus magellanicus. Evergreen (everblue), good for rocky conditions, salt tolerant and will tolerate some wide variations in soil moisture conditions. Blue lyme or dune grass, Elymus arenarius, would work as well, but it's a lot more aggressive and can become rather weedy - depends on how tough your planting situation is. And it's also good to remember that drought tolerance is not immediate, even with plants that are reputed to be very DT - you may need to provide supplemental irrigation now and again the first summer. But in the PNW, that too is extremely variable...wouldn't have needed much this year! |
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