Native Plants
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Thursday - April 09, 2009
From: Philadelphia, PA
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Erosion Control, Grasses or Grass-like
Title: Water seepage problems in basement in Philadelphia
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
I am interested in stopping/limiting water seepage into my basement by placing water absorbing ground plants along one or both sides. The grass we planted when home was new in July 2007 has taken on one side but not on smaller fenced/shaded walkway. Property is in Philadelphia, PA. I am looking for recommendations.ANSWER:
Your problem with water seepage is a little out of our line. We are going to refer you to some websites that will help you determine a possible cause for the problem. First, Do It Yourself Tips on Basement Waterproofing is from an association of paint manufacturers, so their solution is obvious but one you may want to consider. This one from eHow website How to Troubleshoot a Wet Basement mentions repairing the grade of your soil so that it drains away from your foundation and checking to make sure gutters and downspouts are properly placed to drain water away. You really should have someone who is an expert on this kind of problem look at it and make sure there is not a more serious underlying problem and recommend an appropriate fix.
However, we can suggest plants with fibrous roots that will absorb water and hold the soil after you have corrected the drainage problem. To us, this means native grasses, which have long fibrous roots and are great at holding soil. It would be best to make whatever soil gradient or drainage corrections you have to make first, as the grasses alone will not solve the problem, and you would have to disturb or dig up those grasses later if you did not do the basic work first.
The grass you planted was probably a non-native turf grass that needs sun to flourish, but is not necessarily as good at holding soil. We can recommend grasses native to Pennsylvania both for the sunny and shady sides of your house which will be attractive and certainly help to keep the soil from shifting after you have made the necessary changes. In terms of which grasses to use where, we consider full sun to be 6 hours of sun or more a day, part shade 2 to 6 hours of sun, and shade less than 2 hours of sun a day. Before you make a selection, keep records for a few days of how long there is sun at each spot. Some of the grasses will tolerate full sun, part shade and shade, so we will mention what the light requirement for each is to help you find the right grass for the right spot.
Native Pennsylvania Grasses for Water Absorption
Andropogon gerardii (big bluestem) - 4 to 8 ft. tall, sun, part shade
Bouteloua curtipendula (sideoats grama) - 2 to 3 ft., sun
Bromus kalmii (arctic brome) - 2 to 3 ft., sun
Carex blanda (eastern woodland sedge) - 1 to 3 ft., sun, part shade, shade
Calamagrostis canadensis (bluejoint) - 3 to 5 ft. sun, part shade, shade
Chasmanthium latifolium (Inland sea oats) - 2 to 4 ft., part shade, shade
Elymus canadensis (Canada wildrye) - 2 to 4 ft., sun, part shade
Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem) - 18 to 14 inches, sun, part shade
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Grass for detention pond in Illinois
October 06, 2008 - Hi, please advise regarding grass for bottom of detention pond. I have pond with drawdown time 4 days, what grass could survive being underwater 4 days, and not die? Thank you.
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July 26, 2011 - Our home is atop a 20-25' eastern facing sandy loam slope in central Alabama. It was previously covered w/ kudzu. After 3 yrs. of eradication of the kudzu we are ready to plant with native grasses/pl...
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January 25, 2013 - Hi Mr Smarty Plants,
I'm looking for a fast growing ground cover for my Brooklyn, NY back yard. The area is nestled between 3 buildings and a fairly large tree, so most of the day its shady, but ...
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May 24, 2012 - We are trying to beautify and stabilize a relatively large lakeside steep slope with a southern exposure in central Virginia. The soil is characterized by red clay and shale rock. How can we turn this...
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