Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Thursday - August 29, 2013
From: Spring Branch, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Meadow Gardens, Seeds and Seeding
Title: Timing for mowing wildflower meadow
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Last spring (2012) we planted a wildflower/shortgrass meadow on a caliche slope surrounding the back of our house. We terraced with rocks and spread some topsoil thinly before sowing the seed. It did very well this year (2013) and had a plethora of standing cypress and other wildflowers. The grasses (buffalo and blue grama are doing well. It is now (late August) looking pretty ratty, ragged and dry. Most things seem to have gone to seed. When can we mow it without damaging the future production of the meadow?ANSWER:
Congratulations on your meadow! Please read our How to Articles: Meadow Gardening and Recreating a Prairie. They both have information that I think you will find useful. In particular (and in answer to your question), from the MEADOW GARDENING article under "Managing Your Site After Planting—The first year" you will find:
"Once your meadow wildflowers have bloomed, delay mowing the area until at least half of the late-blooming species has dropped seeds."
There are other articles under LARGE SCALE WILDFLOWER PLANTING that you might also find useful.
More Meadow Gardens Questions
Native flowers and plants for meadow in North Carolina
March 02, 2004 - I live in Rock Hill, SC, just south of Charlotte, NC. I would like to have recommendations for planting native flowers and plants in a small meadow in my backyard. Do you have any suggestions or kno...
view the full question and answer
Removing St. Augustine, replacing with native plants
October 06, 2007 - Hello Mr. Smarty Plants, always excited to talk to the Green Guru himself. I've recently purchased a house in South Austin and am interested in establishing a small, 500+ sq ft, prairie grass and wi...
view the full question and answer
Wildflowers to complement Mexican hat in Texas
October 22, 2015 - We have 10 acres in Driftwood that has Mexican Hat pretty much everywhere that is not shaded. We are looking to add additional wildflowers to them in order to have color earlier and later in the seas...
view the full question and answer
Wildflower Lawn for Round Rock, TX
March 04, 2012 - Dear Mr. Smarty Plants,
I live on the west side of Interstate 35 in Round Rock. I have a very sick St. Augustine lawn that I would like to replace with some sort of wildflower mix. I like the look of...
view the full question and answer
Wildflower Meadow for Poth, TX
January 22, 2014 - I recently cleared some underbrush from a virgin pasture, with large oaks and mesquites scattered through it, and was wondering if it was too late to plant wildflowers? If not, what varieties of wildf...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |