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Natives for slopes/hillsides

16 years ago

Any natives that thrive on hillsides? Easterly exposure with loamy/sandy soil. Creating a hillside garden for erosion control, I have 109 feet of space some shade( due to existing trees) and some sun. I would take down the trees if needed.

Thanks, Cherry

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Comments (3)

fatamorgana2121
16 years ago
Unless the trees are diseased or dangerous, why would you ever remove them? There are shade loving natives too! :) It's my understanding that american ginseng has a preference for slopes. Wouldn't it be cool to get a small patch of that thriving under the trees? Wouldn't it be heaven to add some trillium, bloodroot, solomon's seal, trout lily, and jack-in-the-pulpit, which are some of the prettiest eastern forest plants IMHO, to that shady area?

Bee Balm, echinacea, new england aster, wild columbine, butterfly weed, black-eyed-susan, goldenrod, boneset, joe pye weed, wild geranium, touch me not, primrose, and skullcap all grow in sun. Obviously you want to do some research on what will do well in your conditions. I like the place below for both native plants and seed.

FataMorgana

Here is a link that might be useful: Prairie Moon Nursery
joepyeweed
16 years ago
Lots of native thrive on hillsides and even shady hillsides.

But I would like to mention that not all trees are sacred. And there are reasons to remove trees, especially when it comes to erosion control.

Shade tolerant plants are frequently ephemeral and they don't always provide the ground cover that you need for erosion control.

I would carefully evaluate the shade canopy and the tree species. You may want to consider selectively removing a few trees, if too much shade is preventing a good vegetative cover on the slope.

If you are seeding the slope, I would recommend that after you seed, cover the slope with an erosion control blanket, such as North American Green SC150. It will act as mulch and will hold the soil and the seed in the place until the plants get established. The blanket is cheaper than reseeding.
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I would recommended a mix of native grasses and wildflowers that can tolerate both inundation and drought. I would recommend that you use a netted straw blanket, to hold the seed and soil in place until it can get established. In your case, I may use a permanent to semi-permanent soil stabilization matrix... or I would use a hydroseed with sticky mulch. Its a specialty application, its not real expensive but you do need to find someone who knows what they are doing, because if its not installed correctly it won't work and would be a waste of money. I'm not sure who the local sales rep. is for Ero-tex in your area, but you can go to their web site, fill out a form and request an onsite consultation. Their sales rep should be able to hook you up with a local contractor who knows what they are doing. I don't work for this company, but I've used their expertise and find them to be very knowledgeable. Here is a link that might be useful: Ero-tex
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You are seriously limiting your choices if you insist on natives. If you can drop that stipulation, there are dozens of good selections. As long as the ones you choose are not invasive in your area, I see no reason not to expand your palette. (Just my two cents worth.) BTW, I hail from Kingsport, Tn., so am somewhat familiar with your climate. Good ones I have grown here in Mississippi: purple muhly grass (muhlenbergia): This is my favorite for beauty, easy care, long season of interest, and ease of maintenance). When it blooms in the fall it will stop traffic, literally. Miscanthus varieties: Gracillimus, Morning Light, Rigoletto, and Adagio are all beautiful and low maintenance. They get pretty big. Their one fault is their need for division every few years. Since their root balls are massive, division is an extremely strenuous task. Still, they are unsurpassed for beauty, IMO. They can be expensive, but if you buy just one pot and divide it into equal parts, even small parts, they grow so quickly that you'll have all you want in very short order. Mexican Feather Grass: a truly lovely graceful small grass. It doesn't love my humidity or my irrigation system, but I would imagine it would do fine where you are if it is winter hardy. Calamagrostis is also a lovely grass. I have Overdam, which is a variegated one. In my climate it needs some shade, but I bet it would love your area.
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Wintergreen does not spread very fast at all and kinnikinnick only moderately faster. To get full coverage and decent weed suppression you would need to space them relatively closely. The typical recommended spacing is 18-24" but you could go closer for faster coverage. I'm not sure you'd be happy with the results of a wider spacing although I understand that if a big slope, economy alway factors into the equation :-) Because of the kinnikinnick's growth habit, you will still get some weed development (although the mulch will help), so be prepared to do some weeding until it is established. And keep on top of the weeds going forward........it is almost inevitable that you will get some alder seedlings or blackberries popping up and whatever else might be common in your area and if they get a toehold into the slope and groundcover, it will be far more difficult to remove them than if without any groundcover. Unfortunately, NO groundcover is 100% effective at weed suppression.
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ladyslppr
16 years ago
The fact that the ground slopes won't stop any plant from growing there. THe slope means you'll have to pay more attention to stabilizing the ground after any type of ground disturbance, and it will make you reconsider which plants you want where because of visiblity (you'll probably view the plants only from the bottom or top, not walk about on the hillside, I imagine), but otherwise the hill won't impact the selection of plants much.

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