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Site Analysis and
Native Plant Selection
Al Cooke
Agricultural Extension Agent
Chatham County
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/chatham/staff/acooke/home.html
Let‟s start with the myths
• Native plants are more aggressive and better
adapted
• Kudzu and “bamboograss” are not native
Let‟s start with the myths
• Native Plants are disease resistant
• American chestnut; American elm
Let‟s start with the myths
• Native Plants are insect resistant
Dogwood borer injury
Dogwood clubgall midge
Emerald ash borer
Hemlock wooly adelgid
Asian longhorned beetle
Gypsy moth
Southern pine beetle
…..
Let‟s start with the myths
• Native Plants are drought tolerant
Water lily
Let‟s start with the myths
Native Plants grow wild; little or no site
preparation is necessary
• This plant may
produce 1,000s of
seeds; if one seed
grows to maturity, the
parent was successful
• Is that good enough
for gardeners?
Wildflowers
“Because of their delicately balanced adaptation to very specific natural environments, many wild flowers cannot grow in habitats that have been altered or disturbed, nor can they compete with the plants of the more weedy introduced species that rapidly invade the vast areas of land opened or altered by the machines of man for roads, farms, dwellings, and industrial complexes.”
- Justice and Bell, Wild Flowers of North Carolina,
1968
There is no plant native to this site.
What is Native?
• Native to where?
– Continent, region, state, county?
• Native to what?
– Soil type, microclimate, ecological niche?
Plants have developed sophisticated
dispersal strategies.
From before the age of agriculture
plants have used humans as a
means of dispersal
What is Native?
• Native When?
• Before Europeans?
• Before Native Americans?
• Before continental drift?
• What is “native” changes over time.
Ginkgo biloba“Ginkgo” Native to North America
> 100 million years ago
Extinct
Reintroduction route
China -> Japan -> Europe -> NA
Native or not?
Baccharis halimifolia“Eastern Baccharis”
“Believed to have been restricted at one time
to the outer cp.”
How do we know what was here?• John Lawson,
– 1674 - 1711
• Surveyor-General of
North Carolina, 1700
• John Bartram
– 1699 – 1777
• Collected from Ontario to
Florida
• Shipped American plants
to England• William Bartram
– 1739 – 1823
• Traveled with father
• 1773-77, journeys through
southern colonies
• 1791, Travels published
How do we know what was here?
• B.W. Wells
• The Natural Gardens of
North Carolina
• Understanding the plant‟s
relationships in its
community
• 1932, 2002
How do we know what was here?
• Albert E. Radford,
Harry E. Ahles,
C. Ritchie Bell,
1964
• 1st “serious systematic
survey”
• Begun 1956
If the site is no longer
native, salvaged plants
may not thrive even in
their original location
Site Analysis
Site Analysis
• Soil conditions
• Drainage
• Available water
• Slope, Exposure
• Air movement
• What‟s underground and overhead?
Site Analysis:What we need to know about the place
• Expectations
• Size of space(s)
• Utilities
• Soil
• Irrigation?
• Exposure
• Microclimate
Expectations
– What kind of
mental pictures do
you have?
– Hobbies?
– Children? Pets?
Size of space(s)
• What size plants
will fit?
• How many?
• How much mulch?
Site Analysis
• Soil
• Drainage
• Air Movement
• Exposure
Exposure
• North/South/East/West
• Light
• Wind
• Buildings
• Snowfall
Microclimate
• Light/shade
• Hot/Cold
• Wet/Dry
• Proximity to hard
surfaces
Transmit Absorb Reflect
Utilities
• Call before you dig
• The North Carolina One Call Center
• 1-800-632-4949
• Call at least 48 hours before digging
A Landscape is Never Finished
• It includes a living, growing
collection of plants –
• It will change
• It will grow to change the
environment
• Some plants will no longer
be suitable and will need to
be removed and/or replaced
U.S. National Arboretum, Agricultural Research Service,
U.S. Department of Agriculture
http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html
U.S. National Arboretum, Agricultural Research Service,
U.S. Department of Agriculture
http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html
American Horticultural Society
Heat Zone Maphttp://www.ahs.org/publications/heat_zone_map.htm
Some Climate Questions
• Cold, heat, and duration
• Wind, water, humidity
• It‟s not how cold it gets; it‟s how it gets
cold
• It‟s not how hot it gets; it‟s how long it
stays hot
Some Criteria for Plant Selection
• Size
• Growth rate
• Growth habit
• Tolerances & Sensitivities
– Sun/shade, drought, wet/compacted soil, cold/heat, insects, disease, fertility, urban pollution
• Flowers, Fruits
• Fall color
• Attractive Bark
• Fragrance
www.ncstate-plants.net
What we need to know
about the plant: Size
• Mature height and width
Mature height and width
What we need to know about the
plant: Rate
• How fast will
it grow
• What does
dwarf mean?
Dwarf Burford Holly
What we need to know about the
plant: Hardiness
• How tough is the plant
• Cold, heat, wind, water
• It‟s not how cold it gets; it‟s how it gets cold
• It‟s not how hot it gets; it‟s how long it stays
hot
What we need to know about the
plant: Culture
• Sun/shade
• Moist/dry
• pH
• Fertility
• Pruning
• Native habitat
Survival is usually not sufficient
What we need to know about the
plant: Predictable Problems
• Diseases
• Insects
• The beginning point for IPM
What we need to know about the
plant: Ozone Tolerance
What we need to know about the
plant: Fruit
• Ornamental?
• Maintenance problem?
What we need to know about the
plant: What else does it drop?
What we need to know about the
plant: Leaves
• Evergreen/Deciduous
© 2000 NC State University
What we need to know about the
plant: Leaves
• Texture
What we need to know about the
plant: Stem
• Multi-stem/Single
stem
• Colonial
© 2000 NC State University
© 2000 NC State University
What we need to know about the
plant: Stem
• Ornamental bark?
– Color
– Exfoliation
– Shape
– Texture
What we need to know about the
plant: Flowers
• Color
• Size
• Fragrance
• Allergies?
What about Wildflowers?
• Start seed in flats
• Provides plants for
transplanting that have
a competitive
advantage over the
weeds that follow
• Allows you to
distinguish the plant
from the weeds
http://www.doh.dot.state.nc.us/operations/dp_chief_eng/roadside/wildflowerbook/
• Fit the (intended) character of the site
• Pride of place
• Food sources for wildlife
• Broad gene-pool of characteristics and
adaptations
• Good plants
Why should we use natives?
Why should we use natives?
• Food sources for
wildlife
• The Douglas Tallamy
thesis
– Bringing Nature Home:
How You Can Sustain
Wildlife with Native
Plants by Douglas W.
Tallamy; 2007, 2009
• Site is seldom in its native state
• Non-natives may be pre-adapted due to
having developed in similar geographic
areas
• Broad gene-pool of characteristics and
adaptations
• Good plants (including evergreen shrubs)
Why use non-natives?
Acquiring Native Plants
• Transplanting from the wild
• Nursery Grown
•Nursery Propagated
• Grow your own
NATIVE TRUTHS
SOME native plants are
good landscape plants
in SOME locations.
-Dick Bir
-Retired Extension Specialist
-NC State University
Fagus grandifolia“American beech”
Sun to partial shade
50-80‟ high x 40-60‟wide
Moist well-drained soil Rich damp woods
Primarily uplands
Gleditsia triacanthos“honeylocust”
Sun, 50-75‟ high
25-40‟ wide
Creates light shade
Piedmont woods
and borders
Liriodendron tulipiferra“tulip poplar”
Sun to light shade
40-100‟ high x 20-40‟ wide
Rapid growth
Rich low woods
Platanus occidentalis“sycamore”
Sun to partial shade
70-100‟ high x 60-80‟ wide
Moist, well drained soil
Low woods
Prunus serotina“wild cherry”
Sun, 50-80‟ high
Wide soil tolerance
Seldom planted
Fruit used by birds
All parts toxic to livestock
Gil Wojciech, Polish Forest Research Institute, Bugwood.org
Woodlands, fence rows,
pastures
Juglans nigra“black walnut”
Deciduous
50-70 ft. high & wide
Drought tolerant
Tough nut
Allelopathic
Thin woods, open areas
Fraxinus pennsylvanica
F. americanaDeciduous, 50 – 60 feet
Sun
Rapid
“Green Ash”
“White Ash”
Deep, rich soils, floodplains
Betula nigra“river birch”
Deciduous
40-70 ft high & wide
Exfoliating bark
Often grown as multi-stemmed tree
Twiggy
Lowlands, floodplains
Nyssa sylvatica“black gum”
Sun to partial shade
40-60‟ high x 20-30‟ wide
Tolerates heavy soil
Difficult to transplant
Thin woods or in open
Quercus spp.“oak” (at least 14 spp. in Chatham)
White
Scarlet
Pin
Willow
Shumard‟s
red
Sun, good drainage
Soil tolerant
Important mast producers
Swamp
chestnut
Acer rubrum“red maple”
Deciduous, 40-60‟ high x 25-45‟ wide
Sun to shade, soil tolerant
Highly variableLow, rich woods
Acer barbatum“Southern Sugar Maple”
Deciduous, 20 – 30 feet
Sun
Good heat, drought tolerance
Good fall color
Wooded valleys, hillsides
Robinia pseudoacacia“black locust”
Deciduous, 30-50 ft.
Soil tolerant
Young growth thorny
Colonial
Thin woods, open areas
Ulmus alata“winged elm”
Deciduous
30-40 ft high & wide
Rapid growth
Uplands
Sassafras albidum“sassafras”
30-60‟ high x 25-40‟wide
Sun to partial shade
Soil tolerant
Difficult to transplant
Swallowtail caterpillars feed
The Dow Gardens Archive, Dow Gardens, Bugwood.org
Fencerows, old fields
Woodland edges
Cercis canadensis“eastern redbud”
Deciduous, 20-30 ft.
Typically wider than tall
Spring bloom
Short-lived
Understory, various types
Aesculus sylvatica“painted buckeye”
Sun to shade, 5-12‟ high
Moist with good drainage
Understory tree
Stream banks
Alluvial woods
Ilex opaca“American holly”
Evergreen, 30-60 ft
½ as wide
Male and female plants
Less dense in woodland sites
Mixed hardwoods
Carpinus caroliniana“ironwood”
20-30‟ high & wide
Sun to partial shade
Thrives in moist to wet soil
Very slow growing
Dense wood
Chris Evans, River to River CWMA, Bugwood.org
Chris Evans, River to River CWMA, Bugwood.org
Stream banks
Low rich woods
Hamamelis virginiana“witchhazel”
15-30‟ high & wide
Sun to partial shade
Moist well drained soil
Flowers late fall to
early winter
Rich or dry woods
Chris Evans, River to River CWMA, Bugwood.org
Ilex verticillata“winterberry”
Richard Webb, Garden Restoration, Bugwood.org
6-15‟ high x 6-10‟ wide
Sun to partial shade
Drought tolerant
Attracts birds
Bogs, streamside
Low woods
Asimmina triloba
“pawpaw”15-30‟ high x 15-20‟ wide
Sun to partial shade
Moist, well drained soil
Food for zebra swallowtail larvae
Edible fruit
Low woods
Full of Life Nursery, 742.2897
http://www.triplants.com/
Vaccinium arboreum“farkleberry”
Deciduous, 5-10 ft
Berries gritty, dry; good for birds
Exfoliating bark
Dry sites
Vaccinium fuscatum “black higbush blueberry”
Deciduous, 5-15 ft.
Black berries June – August
Less sweet than cultivated varieties
Partial shade
More sun increases fruit
Dry pine-oak woods©2008 by Will Cook
©2008 by Will Cook
Cyrilla racemiflora“swamp titi”
Evergreen shrub, 10-25 ft high & wide
Requires moisture
Bottomlands
Cephalanthus occidentalis“buttonbush”
Deciduous, 5-10 ft
Moist to wet soil
Poor drought tolerance
Banks of streams, lakes
Cornus amomum“silky dogwood”
Deciduous, 8-10 ft
Multi-trunked shrub
Wet to dry soil
Berries may attract birds
Alluvial lowlands
Fothergilla major“mountain witchalder”
Deciduous
6-12 ft.
White flowers mid spring
Moist to dry soil
Fall Color
Dry woodlands
Itea virginica“Virginia sweetspire”
Deciduous, 3-5 ft
May attract birds and butterflies
Avoid fertilizing
Wooded lowlands
Viburnum rafinesquianum“downy arrowwood”
Deciduous, 4-6 ft
Malodorous flowers
Dense woodlands,
especially with high pH
Euonymus americanus“strawberry bush”
Deciduous, 3-6 ft
Spindly green stems
Fruits late spring to summer
Partial shade
Tolerates wet soil
Low woodlands
Rubus argutus “sawtooth blackberry”
©2008 by Will Cook
©2008 by Will Cook
Deciduous, 5 – 10 ft.
Erect arching stems with thorns
Forms dense thickets
Woods borders, old fields,
fence rows
Full sun to light shade
Wide soil tolerance
The common local blackberry
Rubus occidentalis “blackcap raspberry”
Deciduous, 3 – 6 ft.
Erect arching stems
Glaucous coating on stem
Woodlands, clearings, fence rows
Sun to light shade
Source of cultivated black raspberries
Hypericum prolificum“shrubby St. Johnswort”
Deciduous, 3-5 ft
Sun
Summer bloom
Wide soil tolerance
Meadows, rocky woods,
seepages
Ilex glabra“inkberry”
6-8‟ high x 6-10‟ wide
Sun to light shade
Moist soil
Drought tolerant
Flowers attract bees
Pocossins, low woods
Pine barrens
Rhododendron periclymenoides
“pinxter flower”
Deciduous azalea, 4-10 ft
Flower color variable from light pink to deep rose; some fragrant
StoloniferousDeciduous woods, streamsides
Vaccinium crassifolium“creeping blueberry”
Evergreen to 1 ft
Sun to light shade
Acid soil
Some use as groundcover
Prone to root rot
“Pine barrens”
Ambrosia artemisiifolia“ragweed”
Annual weed
Early colonist of abandoned sites
Best in full sun
Fields, roadsides, waste places
Aquilegia canadensis“columbine”
1-3‟
Sun to shade
Seeds around
Blooms March-April
Rich rocky woods,
Pastures, waste places
Asclepias tuberosa“butterfly weed”
1-2‟ high
Sun
Well drained soil
Blooms mid-summer
Dave Powell, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org
John D. Byrd, Mississippi State University, Bugwood.org
Dry fields, roadsides,
Woodland edges
Chrysogonum virginianum“green-and-gold”
6-9 inches, semi-evergreen
Perennial groundcover/edging plant
Flowers in spring, sporadic in summer
Woodlands
Amsonia tabernaemontana“blue star flower”
Perennial, 2-3 ft.
1-3 ft. spread
Sun to partial shade
Flowers in spring
Bottomlands, slopes
Arisaema triphyllum“jack-in-the-pulpit”
Perennial 1-2 ft
Shade
Rich, moist, loamy soil
Rich, low areas
Coreopsis lanceolata“lanceleaf tickseed”
Perennial, 1-2 ft.
Dry soil
Sun
Late spring
Roadsides, sandy woods, waste places
Athyrium felix-femina“lady fern”
Fern, 1-3 ft
Clump forming
Shade; will tolerate sun with adequate water
Woods, lowlands
Osmunda cinnamomea“cinnamon fern”
Fern, 2-4 ft.
Sun or shade
Moist soil
May go dormant in drought
Swamps, streambanks
Polystichum acrostichoides“Christmas fern”
Fern, 12-36 inches
Evergreen
Wide soil tolerance
Shade to light sun
Rocky slopes, swamp edges
Eupatorium purpureum“Queen-of-the-Meadow” “Joe Pye Weed”
4 – 7 feet
Sun, afternoon shade
Mid- to Late summer bloom
High water requirement, good in low areas
Wooded slopes
Heuchera americana“alumroot”
„Palace Purple‟1 – 2 feet
Shade to partial sun
Late spring bloom
Good woodland selection
Rich woods
Rock outcrops
Hibiscus moscheutos“rose mallow” “swamp mallow”
4-7 feet, perennial
Full sun
Flower 4-6”, mid-summer to fall
Moist soil
Dwight K. Lauer, Auburn University, Bugwood.org
The Dow Gardens Archive, Dow Gardens, Bugwood.org
Swamp forests
Alluvial meadows
Iris cristata“dwarf crested iris”
6-12 inch perennial
Sun to light shade
Good drainage
Rich wooded slopes
Monarda fistulosa“wild bergamot”
Dave Powell, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org
William M. CieslaForest Health Management InternationalBugwood.org
2-5 feet
Sun to light shade
More drought
tolerant and
mildew resistant
than beebalm
Wooded slopes and meadows
Pycnanthemum incanum“mountain mint”
3–4 feet
Sun
Mid- to late-summer, flowers not showy
Attract a wide range of beneficial insects
Fragrant
Woodlands, thickets, pastures,
old fields
Solidago rugosa „Fireworks‟“fireworks goldenrod”
2–4 feet
Sun
Late summer bloom
NCBG introduction
“Goldenrods” popular in
19th century gardens
Low woods, meadows, bogs,
old fields, pine barrens
Rudbeckia fulgida“black-eyed Susan”15–24 inches
Sun
mid to late summer bloom
„Goldsturm‟ blooms earlier
Naturalizes well
„Goldsturm‟
Woodlands, meadows, pastures
Oenothera fruticosa“sundrops”
15–30 inches
Early summer bloom
Best in sun
Tolerates light shade
Drought tolerant
Dry woods
Roadsides
Meadows
Polygonatum biflorum“Solomon‟s seal”
2–3 feet
Shade
Early to mid-spring
Moist woodlands
Toxicodendron radicans“poison ivy”
Woodlands, meadows, waste places
Gelsemium sempervirens“Carolina jessamine”
Size varies with space and light
Evergreen twining vine
Sun to light shade
Good drainage
Drought tolerant
Thickets, woodlands,
fence rows, roadsides
Lonicera sempervirens“coral honeysuckle”
Size varies with space and light
Evergreen twining vine
Sun to light shade
Good drainage
Drought tolerant
Woodlands,
Thickets,
Fencerows
Bignonia capreolata“crossvine”
Vine with twining tendrils
Best in sun
Leaves maroon in winter
Thickets, dense woodlands
Parthenocissus quinquefolia“Virginia creeper”
Vine, tendrils with adhering “feet”
Sun to light shade
Good fall color
Can be grown as
ground cover
Dry, rocky, or rich woods
Vitis rotundifolia“muscadine grape”
Vine twining by tendrils
Best in sun
Upland, lowland, sand