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Alabama Wildflower Watch
3733 Dunbarton Drive, Birmingham, Alabama 35223
Mary 1. Burks, Project Director

Native and Naturalized Wildflowers Recommended for Roadside Propagation and for Public and Private Meadow Gardens Seeding, Mixes, Mowing, and other Cultivation Techniques Included

The plants listed on Page 4 have been tested at Oak Mountain State Park, used on Alabama Highway roadside plantings, and used by wildflower programs in other states such as Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee whose planting requirements are similar to Alabama's. The following cultural rec-ommendations have been drawn from personal experience, from the sources above, and those listed at the end of Page 3.

Planting Times

The best time to sow wildflowers in Alabama is autumn. From late October to mid November is pre-ferred. However, as late as very early December is allowable, depending on the specific season. Late, dry heat may delay the best planting times. Fall rains are very helpful in bringing up many of the new seedlings, especially perennials which persist as "winter rosettes" and make considerable root growth before the spring growing season.

Origin of Flowers

Plants native to the Southeast, and to the specific locale, will give the best results. However, several flowers, naturalized for decades, are thought of as native plants and are here to stay. Among these are several familiar and attractive roadside flowers such as Queen Anne's Lace and Ox-Eye Daisy.

It is always wise to be wary of using introduced plants near natural areas, where there is a possibility they might escape and threaten native species. However, most meadow plants do poorly in shady areas and are not likely to become nuisances. Where we substitute wildflowers for grass we create "artificial prairies" in place of lawns and can achieve some of the beautiful effects seen along Texas roadsides and in Texas yards. In Alabama, trees are the natural climax vegetation, but we are able to have beautiful meadow species by infrequent mowing.

Planting and Mowing

Texas has had nearly 70 years of experience in roadside wildflower cultivation. The Texas Transpor-tation Department has found that very shallow cultivation is best, because it does not bring un-wanted weed seeds to the surface. Texas has been joined in the past few years by many other states. Most mow only one time, in the fall. However, in developing a meadow garden it is permissible to mow earlier if the first seedlings are only of spring and early-summer flowers. If using an established flower bed none of the problems listed may apply. Whatever the situation it is necessary to wait until the flower seed heads mature to ensure that annuals can reseed and that per-ennials (the backbone of any planting) can multiply and spread.

Plants, Seeds, and Mixes

I recommend avoiding "mixes". These combinations of seeds have several grave faults. They have too many non-native species. They combine tall and low plants, which insures that the flowers on short stems will not be visible. So-called Southeastern mixes are often filled with exotic species and with plants native to regions as far away as California which seldom succeed in our hot, humid summers.

Mixes almost never offer late sum mer and fall-blooming species, which lengthen the blooming sea-son. Yet some of our loveliest wildflowers bloom in the autumn. It is preferable to order the recom-mended amounts of various chosen species and either plant in drifts of a single species or make one's own mix, being careful to put together those with compatible heights. If at all possible, it is desirable to plant low species at the edge of the selected area, mid-height plants in the middle, and tall specimens at the back.

Shared Plants and Seeds

The home gardener has several excellent alternatives. First, consider harvesting small amounts of seeds only from roadsides or fields, always getting owner permission if on a farm or similar place. Always gather very conservatively, leaving plenty of seeds to insure there will be new plants the following season in the places from which you are harvesting. These native species are the ones best suited to our soils, temperatures, and rainfall.

To establish a wildflower garden more quickly you can also rely on the help of friends who grow meadow varieties. All successful gardeners soon have plants and seeds in abundance and enjoy sharing them. A few plants will get the garden off to an earlier start and soon provide seeds them-selves. For small areas it is easy to find sources for both plants and seeds. Most wildflower nurseries are presently located in surrounding states, but at least their offerings are suited to the South's climate.

Finally, to achieve a bright, flowery look the first season, plant a number of annuals. These will tide you over that transitional period before the perennials are established. Annuals will reseed if they like the site. In any case they will fill in for the two or three years required to grow perennials from seed to flowering plants. The watchwords of wildflower gardening are patience and persistence.

Birds, Butterflies, and Other Wildlife

Meadow plantings can be important for many reasons besides aesthetics. Quail and other game birds, 15 species of perching birds, rabbits and other small mammals are all dependent on the type of habitat which can be established in a meadow or on the roadside. These grass-shrub areas are rap-idly being lost in most states.

Monarch butterflies are dependent on milkweeds for survival. Many of these plants are found pri-marily on our roadsides. Planting butterfly weeds would help ensure the continued survival of these wonderful Lepidopterans as well as provide an extravagant splash of orange in home gardens. Monarchs are having a hard time in their winter havens. When they fly back to the U.S. from Mexico and find milkweeds, the food of their caterpillars, mowed out of existence on our roadsides, many fail to reproduce. Monarch numbers are declining at an alarming rate. As a home gardener, you can help not only by planting milkweeds but by encouraging your city, county, and state highway plan-ners to do likewise.

Tourism, Litter, Speed, and Crops

Texas has found that millions of tourists who spend millions of dollars are attracted to their beautiful roadsides. Festivals and other wildflower events are now widespread. Litter is reduced by 29% as many people are loathe to throw their trash in "flower beds". At the same time accidents are re-duced because drivers slow down to enjoy the flowers. Taxpayers save money because less frequent mowing cuts costs. Finally, growing wildflower seeds has added a new and rewarding crop for Texas farmers. Home gardeners can help by urging state and local officials to follow Texas' example.

Soil Preparation and Weed Control

Pretreatment of selected areas with glyphosate (Roundup or Kleenup) is allowable to kill noxious weeds and aggressive grasses. The grasses often selected for roadsides are particularly hard to con-trol. Converting a lawn to a meadow presents some of the same problems. If you are planning simply to grow meadow flowers in your established beds, none of these problems will be yours. Areas treated may be planted in 2 weeks. However, it kills all existing vegetation that has green parts showing, so it must be handled with caution to see that none drifts onto surrounding shrubs, grass, trees, and flowers.

A sheet of black or clear plastic is an effective alternative to Roundup. Lay the plastic over the area to be freed of unwanted plants, put stones or bricks on the comers and edges to resist the winds, and wait several weeks. Look under the plastic occasionally to judge the progress of the weed elimi-nation. The unwanted plants will be brown, not pale green, when the job is done. In converting a lawn it is necessary to scarify the dead turf to insure that your wildflower seeds can reach mineral soil. Do not till the soil too deeply or you will bring to the surface weed seeds just waiting for a chance to germinate.

To control grasses growing with your meadow flowers use a grass-specific herbicide such as sethoxydirn (Poast, Grass-Be-Gon). Wildseed recommends Omarnec. These do not harm wildflow-ers but are rather slow-acting and expensive. Texas uses these herbicides around bridge abutments and sign posts where it is hard to mow. They can be used to reduce grasses and give seedlings a chance to get started, or to remove grasses which compete too vigorously with flowers.

Weeding, Feeding, and Site Selection

Most wildflowers do not need fertilizer. Some like a rich, moist soil; others want a very dry site. Most tolerate both drouth and heavy rain, the extremes of our climate, if the site is well drained. Wildseed catalog will give the soil requirements of species they offer. Sometimes two different sources of information will not agree on the needs of meadow plants. Only experience will dictate many practices. One old fashioned necessity still holds for the home gardener: there is no way to eliminate hand weeding completely. Despite our best efforts, weeds will come and must be elimi-nated. At the same time, native grasses are natural in our meadows.

Recommended Books:Recommended Seed Source:
Wildseed Farms
1101 Campo Rosa Road - PO Box 308
Eagle Lake, Texas 77434
Telephone: 1-800-848-0078

Recommended Native and Naturalized Wildflowers

The following list is partial, but it gives the names of some very successful varieties.

Native Perennials: Seedlings may take as long as three years to reach blooming size. However, most will bloom in the second year and a few in the first. If you check the Wildseed catalog, you will find a complete description of most of these including a color picture.
Black-eyed SusanRudbeckia hirta Very desirable. Short Lived. Yellow. There are several other species, all attractive.
Lance-leaved Coreopsis Coreopsis lanceolata One of the best. Yellow
Butterfly Weed Asclepius tuberosa Most desirable but not as easy to establish. Showy orange
Mexican Hat Ratibida columnaris Red and yellow. Yellow has more visibility
Evening Primrose or Buttercup 0enothera speciosa Varies from deep pink white. Likes dry sites. Spreads by stolons. Showy in large drifts.
Wild Ageratum, mist flower Eupatorium coelestinum Blue violet, a good color that is hard to get.
Goldenrod Solidago species There are a great many, differing in height and form of bloom head. All are yellow, fall blooming, and handsome. THEY DO NOT CAUSE HAY FEVER. RAGWEED DOES. They bloom at the same time. Goldenrod is showy; ragweed is inconspicuous, but it's guilty
Ironweed Vernonia species Very handsome, tall, purple, autumn-blooming flowers. Highly recommended for damp places.
Sunflower Helianthus species Desirable autumn Yellow. Many varieties with differing needs. A plant for every site.
Purple and related Coneflowers Echinacea purpurea Rose-purple with golden cone. Obedient Plant or False Dragonhead Physostegia species Rose-violet. Wet places. Lengthens season to November.
Naturalized Perennials:
Ox-Eye Daisy Chrysanthemum leucanthemum First to bloom in April. Hardy, reseeds. Attractive native of Europe. White petals, yellow center.
Naturalized Biennials:
Queen Anne's Lace Daucus carota Common, attractive, white. Seedlings self-sown in summer will bloom following summer. Seeds planted in fall will pro-duce plants that bloom the following summer. Plants from seeds sown in the springtime will bloom the next year.
Native Annuals:
Beggar Ticks Plains Bidens species Showy, golden, likes moisture
Plains Coreopsis or Calhopsis Coreopsis tinctoria Yellow with red center, or red with yellow center, or all red. Very desirable.
Clasping or other Coneflowers Ratibida species Yellow
Indian Blanket Gaillardia pulchella Yellow and red. There is also a perennial species (grandiflora) which has larger flowers but does not seem to be as easy to grow in our climate, though desirable.
Sunflower Helianthus annuus Yellow.
Scarlet sage Salvia coccinea Red. Very handsome. Self sows.

Copyright Alabama Wildflower Advisory Committee 1998.
For problems or questions regarding this web contact Roxanna Dean.