By By Steve Strong / MSU extension service area horticulture agent
October 20, 2004
Fall is known as a season of transition, when Mother Nature expresses herself through changing leaf colors and brilliant displays of blooms along the roadside.
Those uncultivated flowers found naturally growing in meadows, untended fields and highway ditch banks are called wildflowers.
Wildflowers include a wide variety of plant types, including re-seeding annuals, hardy perennials, vines, ferns, small shrubs and even showy native grasses. Many of these plants are well suited for home landscape use because they are adapted to the local climate and soils in the area, and can survive on their own with very little care.
While many wildflowers are perfectly fine for formal plantings with that "neat and tidy" look, most species are better off used in informal settings, to provide that natural, "meadow- like" appearance.
Wildflowers are most effective when planted in sweeping masses or when inter-planted among other landscape plants.
When deciding which wildflowers to plant, it is important to choose varieties that are adapted for a particular site. Many species are especially adapted to high, dry hillsides, while other prefer low, moist areas. Remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and that one gardener's wildflower meadow is another gardener's weed patch (think about neighbors beforehand).
Some plant "purists" consider only native plants to be true wildflowers, although there a great number of naturalized species that have been introduced either on purpose or by accident from other countries. Some wildflowers even fall into both categories, starting out as prized garden favorites and later escaping from cultivation to pop up all over the place.
Regardless of their origin, wildflowers offer many benefits in the garden such as wide ranges of colors and bloom times and wildlife habitat support for birds and butterflies. Most require little water or fertilizer, in addition to little need for pest control measures. The main thing to think about is choosing a site that you are willing to leave unkempt for a period of time in order for the plants to become established.
Like any garden bed, consider the amount of sunlight exposure, damp versus dry soil conditions, and whether the addition of lime may be necessary to correct acidic soil pH problems. Planting time is not that critical, although the fall season is an ideal time to start wildflowers from seed and allow them time to mature for bloom during the next growing season.
September through November is a great time to start re-seeding annuals that will likely sprout this fall and get their root systems established in time to flower next spring or summer. The same is true for planting time on perennials, although some plants (grassy plants in particular) may have problems with soggy winter soils thus, spring planting may work better for them.
One easy way to start a wildflower patch is to first eradicate all of the unwanted vegetation on the site (with a herbicide like glyphosate also known as Roundup). Give it a few days for the grass and broadleaf plant to turn yellow or brown out, and then lightly disk or just sow the wildflower seed directly into the area (lightly rake to allow seed to contact the soil). Yearly maintenance may be carried out with select follow-up applications of weedkillers to keep down unwanted competition. Grassy weeds can be controlled with select grass herbicides, but be careful with the broadleaf herbicides that can't tell the difference between a weed and wildflower.
For detailed information on wildflower choices in the South, contact your county Extension office or visit the Mississippi State University Web site at www.msucares.com.