Native Plants
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Friday - January 03, 2014
From: Saint Louis County, MO
Region: Midwest
Topic: Deer Resistant, Erosion Control, Grasses or Grass-like, Shrubs
Title: Deer Resistance and Erosion Control for St. Louis County MO
Answered by: Larry Larson
QUESTION:
I am looking for deer and rabbit resistant native plants for erosion control on a steep ravine slope with part sun and part shade in St. Louis County MO.ANSWER:
Here is a selection of previous Mr Smarty Plant’s responses to questions that involve both erosion control and deer resistance. Only the first reference is from Missouri, but all give some appropriate direction.
Arnold MO: Low-maintenance grass for retention pond
Limiting erosion around pond from Brooklyn Park MN
Deer-resistant groundcovers for erosion control
Flowering Deer Resistant Ground Cover for Dry Rocky Soil: Alabama
Mr Smarty Plant’s recipe for erosion control is to choose plants that clump and/or have extensive root systems. These larger root systems tend to hold the soil in place to a larger extent than the size of the plant would suggest.
There is a special collection of recommended species for Deer resistance. Rabbit resistance isn’t mentioned in the plant records, but one can hope that deer resistant species are similar. This link leads to the collection of deer resistant species.
Like the other special lists, this can be searched for state, aspect, height and several other important characteristics. Thinking about both of these sets of characteristics, my review of this list suggests the following as suitable plants:
Grasses: Bouteloua curtipendula (Sideoats grama), Carex blanda (Eastern woodland sedge), Carex texensis (Texas sedge)
Shrubs: Ceanothus americanus (New jersey tea), Hypericum prolificum (Shrubby st. johnswort). Symphoricarpos orbiculatus (Coralberry)
If you want a little flowering color, there are 43 native wildflowers that also are shown by searching for “Herbs” in this same collection.
From the Image Gallery
More Erosion Control Questions
Erosion control in Ft. Wright KY
June 02, 2010 - My house sits on a hillside. On the back and behind a somewhat large concrete deck there is a retention wall that protects the deck, but after that there is this large area (at least 24X20 ft), that ...
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Erosion under a Live Oak in Edom TX
March 31, 2009 - We have a large Live Oak tree in the front yard that I wouldn't part with for the world. The soil is almost solid sand underneath the tree, and in deep shade. It is on a slight slope and eroding wi...
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Plants Needed for a Shaded, Rocky Slope in Alabama
July 06, 2016 - I live in Alabama where the soil is clay and rocky. I've tried planting on a rocky slope I have but, it's also shaded. Not even Juniper will survive on this slope. I've spent thousands of dollars tryi...
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Erosion control for shady slope in Kentucky backyard
August 28, 2013 - I live in northern Kentucky (near Cincinnati). I have an area in my backyard that has slope. It is next to an ash tree and is very shady. Water erosion has washed away the top soil and pretty much no...
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Erosion control near creek in Kansas City, MO
July 26, 2008 - I'm looking for something to plant to help stop erosion on my property. The spot I have in mind is on a slight natural grade heading toward the creek at the back of my property. Any ideas on what t...
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