Native Plants
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Sunday - March 30, 2014
From: Phenix City, AL
Region: Southeast
Topic: Erosion Control, Groundcovers, Grasses or Grass-like
Title: Erosion controlling Groundcover for Phenix AL
Answered by: Larry Larson
QUESTION:
Hi I am trying to find a grass or ground cover to control erosion on firing range berms which are 1:1 grade on a firing range outside of Phenix City AL. Sandy clay soil, direct sunlight almost all day. Hopefully cheap to initially plant, easy or no maintenance, and self seeding. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.ANSWER:
Mr Smarty Plants thinks you are certainly working in the right direction to look for native plants to stabilize your berms. They certainly fit your requirements of easy or no maintenance and self seeding.
The general approach we use to limit erosion is to recommend clumping grasses or shrubs that have extended root systems. It is these that hold the soil and stabilize it against the flow of water. I’ve collected a set of previous question/answer pairs from Mr Smarty Plants that address erosion and groundcover recommendations from cities in Alabama and Georgia. In addition to the recommendations, pay attention to the methods using the Wildflower Center resources to find candidate plants and approaches.
Ground cover for sun in Phenix City, AL
Plants to stop erosion in Alabama
Flowering Deer Resistant Ground Cover for Dry Rocky Soil: Alabama
Plants for slope in central Alabama
Native plants for erosion control in Cataula GA
Deer Resistant, Fast Growing Groundcover Suggestions for Georgia
Hillside Erosion Control for Gainesville GA
Here are 5 grasses from those recommended above that are relatively low and tend to clump, which means they will function well controlling erosion.
Aristida stricta (Pineland threeawn)
Muhlenbergia capillaris (Gulf muhly)
Schizachyrium scoparium (Little bluestem)
Andropogon virginicus (Broomsedge bluestem)
Two more groundcovers [Calyptocarpus vialis (Straggler daisy) and Phyla nodiflora (Texas frogfruit) ] from the above discussions are quite low and give great cover and virtually zero maintenance. They are a bit less functional at erosion control, but are an excellent zero maintenance lawnlike cover.
From the Image Gallery
More Erosion Control Questions
Plants to stabilize sandy slope in Massachusetts
September 23, 2011 - Dear Mr. Smartypants,
I am working on a small public housing project in Chelmsford, MA, northwest of Boston. We have a steep, sunny and SANDY slope and I am stumped as to what to recommend that wi...
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Need native plant to stabilize 45 degree slope in Houston, TX.
June 06, 2012 - Can you recommend a native TX plant to be used to stabilize a 45 degree slope in the Houston area? Durability, maintenance and appearance should be considered. Thank You.
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Non-allergenic landscape in Fairfield, CT
April 18, 2009 - I live in Fairfield, CT and need to have a non-allergenic landscape. Can you please list plants, ground covers, and trees/shrubs that would be beautiful, and help in this critical situation? The lan...
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Construction problems on site in Mansfield OH
April 28, 2012 - Last year we had a rectangular above ground pool put in the person who "leveled" for use did a terrible job and basically dug a huge hole for us to put our pool in. The back side of the pool is abou...
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Possibilities of plants for bank shale ledge in Johnstown, PA
April 20, 2008 - We have a mountain that we ripped out to build our house. The remaining ledge is mostly bank shale and everyone is telling us that nothing will grow on the hillside due to it being bank shale and a p...
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