Planting Wildflowers with Grasses

Planting Wildflowers
With Grasses

USING GRASSES WITH WILDFLOWERS
SUGGESTED GRASS CHOICES

Wildflowers are at their best sown alone, but they also can be planted with grasses for most areas of the United States, we recommend using one of our native grass mixtures. For specific requirements, individual species may be preferred. Hard Fescue or Sheep fescue works well in most areas of the United States. However in the southeastern states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina, we recommend warm-season grasses; Hard and Sheep Fescue will not thrive in these climates. Follow the recommended planting rates for grasses. A higher planting rate for grass seed is recommended when planting grasses alone; while a lower planting rate is recommended if including wildflowers.

Warm-season grasses to consider, for the southeastern USA, include the Grammas, Buffalo Grass and Bluestems. These grasses grow very slowly and are planted for aesthetic and ecological reasons rather than prompt stabilization of soil.

AVOID PLANTING AGGRESSIVE GRASSES WITH WILDFLOWERS

Aggressive grasses should be avoided because they will crowd out most wildflowers. These aggressive grasses include Kentucky Bluegrass, Smooth Brome, Crested Wheatgrass, Bermuda Grass and Annual Rye. If wildflowers must be used with these grasses, the flowers should be planted in high-density patches as accents to the grassed areas. Or the wildflowers may be planted with the grasses if the planting rates of the grasses are reduced significantly.

Keep in mind that over time grasses will tend to replace much of the wildflowers present on your site.

Over time grasses tend to create a dense turf, reducing the stand of wildflowers. You can offset this some by overseeding each year, but you need to roto-till or scratch up the ground so that good seed / soil contact (coverage) can occur with your wildflower seeds.

Wildflowermix.com NOTE: The color of wildflowers viewed in digital pictures on this site will vary depending on the monitor used and display settings.  The actual grow-out color of any wildflower species will depend on many unknown variables including site fertility, weather, time of year, lighting effects for the time of day, etc. Colors of any one wildflower usually will vary in shade from pictures available on this site or from the same or similar wildflowers grown at different locations. While we make every effort to try and present the most likely true color of wildflowers on this site, pictures shown are not guaranteed to be true to color. Search our store for products:      Web Seedland.com   © 1999 Seedland, Inc. - All rights reserved. USA Sales | Worldwide Sales | About us | Contact Seedland | Questions? Guarantees | Seed tests | Quality Issues | Advertising | Exports | Commercial Wholesale | Payment FAQ's | Privacy & Security | Accounting Questions