Re: crown vetch?

> Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2000 14:14:44 -0500
>  From: Pat <pattm@execpc.com>

>  Anyone have any experience using crown vetch as erosion control on a
>  steep bank?  

Pat, 

Funny this should come up at the same time we are discussing loosestrife, 
because that is another plant that many, including myself, believe we should 
not be planting.  

I do have some experience with crownvetch, and none of it is good.  I 
recently helped a client eradicate it from her yard and replace it with more 
suitable plants.  She had planted the crownvetch for the same reason you are 
considering it -- to prevent erosion on a steep slope.  In her case, with 
very shallow rocky soil on the steep slope of an Ozark foothill, the 
crownvetch didn't do very well.  It looked unsightly and because the coverage 
was spotty the erosion continued.  Even in this situation, which was far from 
ideal, it is taking a great deal of expense and effort to get rid of it and 
even here it is spreading out of bounds, into a natural wooded area across 
the street.

I have seen with my own eyes many  places where crownvetch has spread from a 
highway planting and taken over natural areas by crowding out the native 
plants. Once this happens, there is not much hope of getting rid of the 
crownvetch.  It has very tough, deep roots so once established pulling it out 
is nearly impossible.  It can spread some distance by seed.  Some of the 
affected areas I have seen are nearly a mile from the original highway 
planting site.   

Yes, it was once considered a miracle plant that would solve erosion problems 
and Highway Departments freely seeded it along US highways.  Now it is 
showing up on noxious invasive plant lists and Highway Departments are trying 
to eradicate it.  I would hate to see you make the same mistake.  You could 
end up having a lot more trouble getting rid of crownvetch than you are 
having now trying to get rid of grass so you can plant it.  

The case above had a happy ending.  This spring the area was heavily seeded 
with native grasses and wildflowers indigenous to glades in her area.  It 
looks good already and even in this very rainy summer, the young plants are 
holding the soil against erosion.  

With so many other wonderful plants that will prevent erosion, why choose one 
that is an environmental problem?  If you decide to reconsider, I sure 
listmembers, myself included, will be happy to give you some other 
suggestions!  --Janis

P.S. On another note, crownvetch might not be a good choice for aesthetic 
reasons, too.  Have you see it in the winter?  At least around here in the 
Midwest, it is very ugly in the winter.


---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index