Rewilding My Lot

Converting a new developer lot into a nature ecosystem — my journey


Mid-Height Prairie Grasses

I have a small area near the back of the garden where I tried to seed Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) in the spring. Nothing grew.

Last month I bought a Little Bluestem in a pot, split the clump into pieces, and planted those. Also in that area, I planted one Gulf Muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris).

In the remaining space of that defined area, I have now sown seed for more Little Bluestem (purchased from Native American Seed), and Waco Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans, gifted to me by Headwaters at the Comal, where I sometimes volunteer).

Here’s how that process went:

  • As best I could, I cleared the area of weeds.
  • The boundary had already been defined by a little mulch ridge in the spring, but that had become worn down since then. I added more mulch at the edge.
  • The two kinds of seed were mixed in a bucket, and then mixed with peat moss and soil to make the dispersion easier. Sand also works as a seed carrier, but in this garden I am adding more organic material at every opportunity. These photos are seeds before and after adding peat moss; the larger portion of seeds is the purchased Little Bluestem.
  • The seed mix was spread by hand, and then I stomped it all in and lightly watered the area.

I do not plan to have any watering schedule for these seeds. I will let nature decide if and when they germinate. Ideally they would germinate before we have heavy rain, but by building up the mulch barriers, hopefully they will at least stay in the defined area. At this point, the only further action I plan here is periodically to remove anything that isn’t a grass.



6 responses to “Mid-Height Prairie Grasses”

  1. […] finish off, I scattered another half-bag of soil, stomped, and watered. As with the mid-height prairie grasses that I recently seeded, I don’t plan much intervention in the area for now, besides removal of anything that […]

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  2. […] There are a total of three Gulf Muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris) plants here. One is in the front bed, planted by the builder (a rare good plant choice by the original landscaper), and the other two are in the back in the area that is designated for mid-height prairie grasses. […]

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  3. […] back in the beginning of planning this garden, I set aside a small area for mid-height native grasses. The main focus was to be Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) introduced by seed and plant, […]

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  4. […] have a small area of the back garden that I designated for mid-height prairie grasses. Some of the intended plants were transplanted in and some were […]

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  5. […] Early on in my time here, I set aside a portion of the back garden to be an area for mid-height native prairie grasses and the one I particularly wanted to grow was Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium). I introduced that by plant and seed. […]

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  6. […] I seeded Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) and Waco Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans). [Spring 2023 & Oct 2023] […]

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About Me

Nature Lover.
Inquisitive Observer.
Student Gardener.

I invite you to join me on my journey to convert my sterile (from a nature point of view) new house lot to a healthy and diverse ecosystem, as I make discoveries, mistakes, and hopefully progress. I am not an expert or professional. The project started in February 2023 and the location is Seguin, Texas, USA.