Grasses and Forbs Options in Ontario
Third week of February and the peppers are germinating!
As of right now all 10 seeds of the Brazilian Starfish pepper (planted February 2) have sprouted. We have 2 of each of the varieties planted February 4th up and cotyledoned up, except the Lemon Drop peppers. So far they are a no show. Yesterday I planted the second installment of the Pepper Project: Planting. One of these days I’ll print out my planner and then you can see my progress.
I’ve been working on the potager plan and I think that I have everybody sorted out. This year I’m definitely going to need more supports so I’m thinking of making my own trellises and tripods.
And I have more seeds!!!
A batch of seeds came in from Hawthorn including the gorgeous Earl Grey Larkspur my sister kindly gave me. Also my quartet of native grasses that I’m super excited about.
Last year the landlord had to remove some ash trees from the property that were badly infested with the invasive Emerald Ash Borer beetle. This opened up an area that had hitherto been quite shaded. It’s in the Northwest corner of the property and I thought that I could apportion a 20 by 20 foot wedge for some sort of native plant restoration.
I was considering a songbird haven and food forest possibility but when I tallied up my tree and bush total from Not So Hollow Farm it would be over $400. Almost the same amount as that Lakehead U Ontario Master Naturalist Program that I’m saving up for.
So I reconsidered and started doing some research on Ontario Tallgrass Prairie restoration.
It’s super sad.
I never realized what an endangered ecosystem it is. Only 1% of the original tallgrass ecosystem in North America remains. And yet, over 250 species of plants are found in Ontario’s prairies and savannas including slender blazing-star, butterfly milkweed, pale purple coneflower, big bluestem and Indian grass. Almost 20% of Ontario’s 681 rare plant species occur in these communities.
It’s not just plants. Bird species such as bobolink, savanna sparrow and northern bobwhite use them as food sources and nesting sites. Their numbers decrease as quickly as their habitats do. Also butterflies, damselflies, ants, leafhoppers and lady beetles are found in large numbers in tallgrass sites.
They are something worth preserving.
There are five species of grasses that dominate prairies and savannas across southern Ontario. About 95% of the grass biomass at any particular site is made up of one or more of the following species:
Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii),
Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans),
Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium),
Switch grass (Panicum virgatum),
and Prairie cord grass (Spartina pectinata).
Hawthorn offers Big Bluestem, Indian Grass, Little Bluestem and Switch Grass so I got all four.
In the seed swap I also received some flowers that are part of the forbs (herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid - grass, sedge, or rush) found in Tallgrass Prairies.
Yarrow
Boneset
Rudbeckia
Echinacea
Milkweed
Interestingly Common Milkweed is classified as “noxious” under Ontario’s Weed Control Act because it can be aggressive in agricultural fields, irritating farmers. Milkweed is however an important component of healthy prairies and meadows. They provide nectar for butterflies and hummingbirds, and their foliage is the main food source for monarch butterfly caterpillars. There are other milkweed species, like Butterfly Weed, and they are suitable for prairie and meadow plantings. These species are not aggressive; they should be included in the planting.
Getting seeds from Hawthorn (local) means several things in regards to the plants they produce. These plants, once grown, will be
• adapted to my local growing conditions
• will provide needed food and shelter to the native wildlife
• are already part of the local ecosystems and are thus unlikely to upset the ecological balance
What about the “native” plants you see at the local big box store?
These are more often than not cultivars of the native plant, not the native plant itself. Humans seem to always want bigger and bolder, especially better than their neighbours, so they produce fancier, larger blooms and different colors of leaves and flowers. Weirdly enough, even though they look different, they are exact copies of the parent plant and create a vacuum when it comes to genetic diversity for that species. The plants that seem to show up most often are: asters, goldenrods, wild strawberry, wild bergamot, sneezeweed, black-eyed Susan and blazing star. These plants will be of no benefit to your restoration project because of their deficient genetics. Also, they may no longer be of any value to the wildlife that used them for food or shelter.
So what are some native options that can be found locally?
These options are found in either Tallgrass Prairie or Meadows depending on what you are trying to achieve.
Grasses and Sedges
Big Bluestem
Canada Wild Rye
Switchgrass
Forbs
Yarrow
Canada Anemone
Thimbleweed
Indian Hemp
Butterfly Milkweed
Heath Aster
Smooth Aster
New England Aster
Sky Blue Aster
Hairy Aster
Showy Tick Trefoil
Flowering Spurge
Wild Strawberry
Fringed Gentian
Bottle Gentian
Tall Sunflower
False Sunflower
Round Headed Bush Clover
Hairy Bush Clover
Michigan Lily
Pale Spiked Lobelia
Fringed Loosestrife
Winged Loosestrife
Foxglove beard-tongue
Hairy beard-tongue
Prairie Cinquefoil
Slender Leaved Mountain mint
Virginia Mountain Mint
Black eyed Susan
Gray Goldenrod
Ohio Goldenrod
Germander
Purple Meadow Rue
Blue Vervain
Missouri Ironweed
What’s the difference between a Tallgrass Prairie or a Meadow?
The prevailing difference has to do with fire or no fire.
Both are open communities of grasses and wildflowers, with few trees. They can share some plant and animal species, such as black-eyed Susans and goldfinches. They also both support a rich variety of animal life.
But a prairie is maintained primarily by fire burning through the dead grasses and eliminating any encroaching shrubs or trees which would take over and convert it into woodland.
A meadow on the other hand, is often maintained by flooding and drought, or occurs when agricultural land is abandoned. It can also support shrubs and trees and is more likely to turn into woodland unless grazing animals are present.
Even though they can share similar species of plant and animal life some plant and animal species are more likely to be found only in one of the ecosystems. Indian grass and wild indigo duskywing butterflies are found in prairies. Common evening-primrose and common sootywing butterflies are found in meadows.
The biggest problem that I’m going to have is dealing with invasive or non-native species. Non-native plants are species that were not present in Ontario before European settlement. They were brought over from other parts of the world (usually Asia or Europe) by humans, accidentally or deliberately.
But, that’s tomorrow’s post…
