Prairie gardens are valued as a low-maintenance alternative to the traditional lawn or landscaped bed. Composed of wispy native grasses and late-flowering perennials, these gardens require little care once established. However, proper prairie maintenance during the first three years is essential to the future success of the garden. Prairie Management – Year One Controlling weeds is the biggest challenge gardeners face in the first year of a newly-planted prairie garden. Annual weeds shoot up much faster than slow-growing perennial prairie plants. Without control methods, prairie plants can suffer losses due to competition by taller, denser weeds. Hand weeding is effective for small gardens. This works best when eliminating young weeds as it is less likely to disturb the shallow-rooted prairie plants during their first year. In order to remove only the weeds and not the prairie plants, the gardener must be able to distinguish between the two. Online references can […]
The post Prairie Maintenance Tips For Backyard Prairie Gardens appeared first on Gardening Know How.
