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christie_sw_mo

What can I plant in our hayfield?

christie_sw_mo
13 years ago

We have an 8+ acre hayfield that is a mixture of grasses and red clover and I'd like to add a few plants just for interest here and there, not a large planting since it is primarily for feeding cattle. I need suggestions for early bloomers, or rebloomers, especially flowers for butterflies.

What we have now:

Queen Anne's Lace has no trouble blooming and competing with the grass. It survives been cut and baled a couple times in the summer. (We didn't plant it) There are also a couple asclepias tuberosa plants that bloom, get baled in late May then bloom again before the second cutting. There's quite of bit of ironweed in the field but it doesn't get a chance to bloom.

Asclepias is poisonous to cattle, but when it's dried in a bale of hay, I believe it's not highly toxic. I don't think I should plant much more though.

What do you see blooming in hayfields in your area?

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