Gardening Native Nebraska Plants
By Emma Risinger
With gardening season right around the corner, many are thinking about what they want to plant in their flower beds this summer. While of course the classic tulips, marigolds, roses, and sunflowers are all great choices, perhaps some of the best floral options for our gardens this summer include milkweed and other native plants.
Some native wildflowers to Nebraska include the maximilian sunflower, black-eyed susan, spiderwort, leadplant, sweet clover, common blue aster, wood anemone, sensitive partridge pea, upright coneflower, smartweed, shell leaf penstemon, plains sunflower, and western wallflower, all of which can be spotted in the ditches and fields around Northeast Nebraska in the warmer months of the year.
They may sound like odd choices; however, planting native florals can be both a beautiful selection for flower gardens, but can also serve so many benefits for Nebraska.
To begin, native plants are of significant benefit to our pollinators. According to the Xerxes Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to invertebrate conservation, Nebraska is home to around 20 different species of bees, including honey bees. However, bee populations in Nebraska are on the decline. A number of factors which contribute to this alarming circumstance, include use of pesticides, climate change, low genetic diversity within bee populations, and perhaps most notably, habitat loss. If many people could consistently plant even just a small amount of wildflowers (which are a primary food source for bees) in their gardens, we could help out our pollinators, which are so crucial to agriculture all over the country.
In addition to bees, monarch butterflies could greatly benefit from Nebraskans planting more of monarch caterpillars’ primary food source: milkweed. The Center for Biological Diversity states that monarch butterfly populations have decreased by 85% over the past two decades, and one of the contributing factors is that there is not enough milkweed for the butterflies to lay eggs on. Prior to the 1990s, the upper Midwest produced more monarch butterflies per acre than almost anywhere else. But, when herbicide tolerant crops were introduced, a lot of milkweed and other native plants were killed off.
Not all hope is lost, however. Many small farms and companies in Nebraska aim to improve the prevalence of wildflower growth.
One of these organizations is a project called Conservation Blueprint, based out of St. Paul, Nebraska. The company’s mission is to offer a variety of seed mixes and services to anyone who wants to plan, create, and maintain wildlife habitat. The company sells native seed mixes for both small scale and large scale planting. Pete Berthelsen, president of the company, has over 25 years of experience in wildlife management and conservation and a masters degree in wildlife science from Texas Tech University.
When asked to provide his thoughts on planting native wildflowers, he said, “Nebraska is blessed with abundant native grasslands and native prairie that much of the country has lost. The example is that Iowa has less than one percent of native prairie. Nebraska is blessed to still have so much native prairie and grasslands. They are a great resource to establish native wildflowers.”
To get started growing native plants, an article from American Meadows, a company that specializes in meadowscaping, highlights that the basic steps for growing wildflowers are about the same as planting other species from seed. First, prep the soil by removing debris and other growth. Then, plant the seeds according to any instructions that come with them, and compress seeds into the soil. Next, just water regularly and watch the native blooms grow.
Even if a gardener only has a small area in which they grow native plants, it still serves a benefit. Berthelsen commented on the idea of small backyard plots benefiting pollinators, saying, “Small plantings in back yards can be very helpful, and those species will certainly find, if you plant it and grow it.”
But, one argument against growing native plants is that they may spread and take over a garden, because as the old saying goes, they “grow like weeds.” While not all wildflowers spread quickly, one of the best ways to prevent native plants of choice potentially encroaching on anything else in a garden is to plant them in a separate container. The Gardening Knowhow blog says that many wildflower species grow just fine in barrels, pots, or even window boxes. A person could even create some kind of a raised bed for their wildflowers.
Some places for Nebraska gardeners to locally source their wildflower seeds and plants include Conservation Blueprint, as well as Shoestring Acres Seed, Prairie Legacy, Monarch Flyway, Pheasants Forever, and Stock Seed Farms, all of which are native seed suppliers right here in Nebraska. For more information, look them up online. Many of these businesses have online ordering options, making it convenient for anyone wanting to grow seeds which are truly native to our area.
So check them out! It is clear to see the value of growing native plants. This spring we can help our pollinators, appreciate the beauty of Nebraska’s beautiful wildflowers, and support small farms in our state.
