How to change from grass to native yard...

[Ed Aumiller]

Getting a bit older and want to change a portion of our yard to native plants...
We have a small area, about 500 square feet, that we had Iris's and other flowers planted in it. Want to convert to LOW growing plants that basically do not need mowing or weed-wacking.
Being in a wooded area on the side of a mountain with a fair amount of rocks... have a problem occasionally with copperhead and rattlesnakes...
What would be a good LOW growing ground cover?? Or native plants ??
Located at edge of Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.... very similar conditions to central Penna.
Any advice appreciated...

[Jim Becker]

This would be a really good thing to consult with your local "extension" office with...typically associated with large land-grant type universities. Here in PA, that would be Penn State. The reason for this recommendation is that they are going to be very knowledgeable about your geography including understanding microclimates that may affect what grows best where you actually live. Even the kinds of trees that are on and border your property can affect what grows well and what native species will fulfill your desires as well as benefit the local flora and fauna.

[roger wiegand]

Check out the Virginia Native Plant Society, they probably have resources for you. Here in MA my wife works with the local equivalent organization and is our town's "native plant ambassador"-- she goes out and visits with homeowners on request to provide specific recommendations for the soil, water, and sunlight conditions in people's yards. She also propagates a lot of plants, so shows up with some plants to get people started. (and the invasives identification tricks to get rid of the nasties)

[roger wiegand]

Here's an upcoming talk from the Virginia Master Gardeners Association https://mgnv.org/event/case-studies-...n-replacement/

[Malcolm McLeod]

Take a look at native Buffalo grasses. It gives close to the same look and feel of traditional turf grasses, but with virtually zero supplemental water required and no mowing. It grows to 4-6" high and stops; self-spreading like Bermuda or St.Augustine (I think it will choke out competitors?); goes dormant in (true high-plains) drought conditions. You might look for "Turffalo" (fine-textured hybrid developed for home use by Texas Tech, if memory serves).

I planted plugs with ~3' spacing over the back 40* in N.TX, then moved before it got more than 20% coverage - - but seemed to be doing as promised. I would check for suitability with AG Extension agent, or equal, for your area before 'investing'. It is relatively expensive compared to other turf grasses, but saves a lot of work. Or depending on what other non-turf ground covers you might be considering, may actually be a bargain?

*- ok, ok - 40 x 1000sqft, not acres

[Bill Dufour]

Mini mondo grass does well in shade. Lippia grass will freeze back. No idea if they can take your climate or not.
Bill D

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

Check for any mowing and maintenance requirements of your municipality. Folks here went "native" and ignored the rules and notices from the township. The township sent in a service to "tame" the yard, bill was near 5 figure and the folks couldn't pay. Lost their place. It wasn't that the grass was waist high either. We are in a rural township where folks tend to do whatever, but the grass length was six inches on residential lots, and rules about hedges and bushes not attracting rodents, etc. Mice and voles only need 3 or 4 inches of grass and leaves. I grew very tired of mowing the hillsides around my barn and house, so I fenced it and turned sheep loose. Odd thing is, the yard maintenance ordinance, does not apply to pastures, so the yard/pasture was good to go.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

We have similar goals. I tried Subterranean Clover in central MO. The deer wiped it out. Try looking at Xeriscape.
Xeriscaping | Charlottesville, VA

[Ken Platt]

This site: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/

You can select the type of plant, height, sun amount, moisture and it will list natives for your area

Another one by zip code: https://www.nwf.org/nativeplantfinder/plants

I also found this book very helpful on the process: Lawns into Meadows, by Owen Wormser.

Good luck!

Ken

[Bill Dufour]

Do not be fooled into only native plants. Feel free to get plants form similar climates worldwide. Many parts of California do well with natives from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
Bill D

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

I am 50 miles north of Baltimore. We have banana trees that come up every year out in the side yard. we have a few other semi tropical plants growing in the yard, including two hardy palms. I recently read about a guy in eastern Maryland that gets to pick olives in his yard. I don't give a crap about whether something is native as long as it is not invasive. I would like to grow some exotic (for here) conifers like sand hill pine and sugar pine. Out native hardwood forest is fast changing due to the myriad of pests that are killing off the trees. Emerald ash borers, Elm diseases, canker disease killing Black Walnuts, Hemlocks, pine rust, Lantern flies, beech trees being killed off. Gypsy moths killing oaks, bag worms killing spruce trees, there won't be much left to call a forest soon.

[William Lessenberry]

Moss. Lots of different types, about as low maintenance as you can get.
BillL

[Rob Luter]

Do not be fooled into only native plants. Feel free to get plants form similar climates worldwide. Many parts of California do well with natives from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
Bill D

Many parts of California (and other States) are overrun with non native invasive species that a well meaning party introduced. California has Ice Plant, The Southeast Has Kudzu (The Vine that Ate the South), Purple Loosestrife is everywhere, and the list goes on. Jim and Roger offer good advice above. Check with your state extension office.

When I lived in Michigan the state returned miles of Interstate Highway medians to a natural state as a savings measure. It doesn't need to be mowed and it looks great. It seems to me they had seed mixes available for landowners that wanted to do the same thing to their property. Your state may have something similar.

[roger wiegand]

Do not be fooled into only native plants. Feel free to get plants form similar climates worldwide. Many parts of California do well with natives from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
Bill D

This misses the point. Plants and the animals that co-evolved with them are mutually dependent; similar appearing plants do not provide the same wildlife value as the natives. It takes on the order of hundreds of thousands of years for insects to adapt to be able to use an introduced plants. Doug Tallamy is an entomologist who has extensively studied the interaction of insects and plants (his books like Bringing Nature Home are both accessible and entertaining while containing serious science), has shown that in the 500 years since many European plants were introduced to the Americas there has been virtually no adaptation by native insects to use those species as sources of food or shelter. With the loss of insect habitat and resulting declining numbers we see a corresponding loss of bird and small mammal numbers. Bird populations have declined something like 40% since 1970 in the US.
Just in our small plot of land (2 acres) we've seen a huge increase in the number and diversity of insect species and a corresponding increase in the number of successful bird nests just over the five years or so since we began full scale conversion from European and Asian species in the gardens to New England natives. It really does make a difference, even at a small scale.

[Jim Becker]

Do not be fooled into only native plants. Feel free to get plants form similar climates worldwide. Many parts of California do well with natives from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
Bill D

Planting non-natives can be an environmental issue for both native plants and animals and is discouraged or even prohibited in many areas at this point.