Native Plantings 05/23/2011
 
Native plantings are the best of all worlds.
Beautiful, extremely low maintenance, economical, water efficient and benefits the environment.
Native plants, once established, require little help to thrive IF properly planned. They will attract native species of bird and butterfly, handle the native weather (like our varying situation here in the Pacific Northwest - drenching rains to a few months of drought ) and require much less prep work since they don't need fluffy beds of worked soil to do well.

For the Pacific Northwest garden, here is a quick list of of native plants for each layer of the garden that are sure to please!

TREES: Acer Circinatum ( Vine Maple) Cornus nuttallii (Pacific Dogwood) Tsuga mertensiana (Mountain Hemlock)

SHRUBS: Cornus stolonifera(Redtwig Dogwood) Gaultheria shallon(Salal) Mahonia aquifolium (Oregon Grape) Ribes sanguineum(Pink Winter Currant) Vaccinium ovatum (Evergreen Huckleberry)

GROUND COVERS: Cornus canadensis(Bunchberry) Fragaria chiloensis (Beach Strawberry) Asarum caudatum (Wild Ginger) Maianthemum dilatatum (False Lily-of-the-Valley)

PERENNIALS, FERNS and GRASSES: Aquilegia formosa (Western Columbine) Blechnum spicant (Deer Fern) Dodecatheon (Shooting Star) Fritillaria camschatcensis (Black Lily) Iris, Pacific Coast (Pacific Coast Iris) Lilium columbianum(Columbian Lily)Smilacina racemosa (False Solomon's Seal) Trillium ovatum (Wake Robin)

Your yard may offer enough diversity in growing conditions to open up the palette of natives you can plant too as well; a hot dry rockery or well drained slope will be the perfect environment for some, while a low damp spot or shady area is perfect for others.

Native plants will thrive with a good start and good care as they establish. Here are a few tips to get you going:

When purchasing container grown plants choose young plants that are not root bound in the pot - a young plant will adapt much more successfully than a large plant or one that is already root bound. As with most plants, and especially with trees, planting when the plant is young is best as they given the chance to adapt to the specific climate of your garden as they mature.
Do check that  your native plants have been harvested in an ethically sound practice. If your source is your gardener you should be sure they are licensed so they are able to get plants from the proper sources. (as in not just going out in to the woods and digging stuff up.......this happens and was actually becoming a problem in some of the local parks)

Water immediately after planting being sure to saturate the soil - this eases the stress of planting and helps to settle the soil around the root ball, ensuring there are no large air pockets under the plant.

Water evenly and steadily the first two summers- don't inundate them with water, but don't let them dry out. During the first two years your natives will be doing mostly root work, growing wide for stability before putting on height and growing deep to search for water.

After two years, assuming they have been planted where the natural conditions suit them, native plants usually don't need any supplemental watering in the summer.

In general native plants need no fertilizer - and in some cases applying fertilizer may cause unnatural bursts of growth resulting in weak, poorly matured plants.

Mulching is good, BUT make sure the mulch is not piled up around the base of the plant - burying the crown of the root ball under too much mulch can result in crown rot.


 


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