This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

RE: to trim or not ???

As you can see by the postings there are a lot of conflicting thoughts about
when to burn and why. In my experience burning at anytime will favor grasses
over forbs - but that is not to say that you should never burn. I think it
was wise to burn your planting, but I would do so infrequently (maybe every
3-4 years). Burning will stimulate forbs, but it seems to stimulate grasses
even more. Burning also helps control weeds. I suspect next year you will
see more balance in your planting. If you want to get rid of the trash in
the years you don't burn, mow.

Happy Growing,
Corrine Daniels
Nursery Manager, Applied Ecological Services


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-prairie@mallorn.com [o*@mallorn.com]On
Behalf Of Dan Dietz
Sent: Monday, April 30, 2001 10:48 PM
To: prairie@mallorn.com
Subject: to trim or not ???


I am fairly new to prairie plantings, but seem to be having good luck so
far.
I have a fourth year planting in a residential lot ( 2 acres) that I am
managing
primarily for flowers (about 25 various species). It is about 1/4
acre with little blue, side oats grama, indian grass, and prairie drop seed
for
grasses.

I burned last spring (2000) for the first time, and the grasses EXPLODED,
where
in previous years the flowers were much more dominate. Being in a yard, I
would
like to emphasize the flowers more.

The question is this; how should I manage stronger for flowers? Maybe trim
instead
of burn ? If so, should I trim the dead grass this spring yet (its still
2'-5'tall).

Any advice is welcome

Dan Dietz
Reedsburg WI



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