Authors discuss value of installing plants, flowers native to Midwest

• Reprints

Article Extras

Updated: November 16, 2011 1:35AM

What a great idea! Local authors Charlotte Adelman and Bernard L. Schwartz compiled a wealth of information for those of us who are looking to add a few native plants to our gardens or for those who intend to go all-the-way native. I had the luxury of spending a morning in their beautiful gardens with them as personal guides. I saw firsthand how native plants will bring the birds, butterflies and other pollinators home as only a balanced eco-system will do. Color and motion!

The illustrated book, The Midwestern Native Garden, is available in softcover and electronic editions in late August. See www.ohioswal low.com for more information.

Q. Why is it smart to replace non-native plants with native ones in our Midwestern gardens? How does this help our eco-system?

A. The native plants of the Midwest are those plants that grew here naturally before explorers and settlers introduced nonnative plants from faraway places. The native Midwestern trees, shrubs, flowers, sedges and grasses that thrive today in our region are the long-term survivors of a grand endurance test that lasted for thousands of years. The results are in, and today’s gardeners and landscapers are the lucky beneficiaries.

This region’s native plants endured and survived repeated bouts of freezing winters, broiling summers and killing droughts. The result is native Midwest plants that provide us with beauty, ease of maintenance and environmental benefits that cannot be matched by plants that have been introduced from Europe, Asia and even distant North American regions. Those plants spent their time adapting to the requirements of those distant locations and co-evolving with the butterflies and birds native to those distant locations. Choosing regional Midwest plants confers on today’s Midwest gardeners and landscapers the benefits of eons of their adaptation to the Midwest’s climate and native butterflies and birds. Midwest gardeners and landscapers have the benefit of nature’s trial and error that produced the native plants that are the most practical, smart and aesthetic choices for Midwest landscaping of homes, schools, parks, businesses and public spaces.

Because they are perfectly adapted to the region, it is smart and makes practical sense to choose Midwestern native plants because they are reliable, cost effective, vigorous, long-lived and hardy, as well as beautiful, ornamental and fragrant. When planted in the right location (dry, wet, medium, shady or sunny) and once established, native Midwestern plants require no watering or fertilizing. Native plants are resistant to most pests and diseases and never require applications of pesticides or herbicides. This is why native plants are appealing to the gardener/landscaper, who is interested in “low-maintenance” gardening and landscaping.

Q. Would you name a few native plants that are particularly attractive and necessary for specific butterflies and birds?

A: Milkweed (Asclepias) species: Prairie or Sullivant’s Milkweed, Orange or Butterfly Milkweed, Whorled Milkweed, Purple Milkweed, Red or Swamp Milkweed, White or Verticillata Milkweed, Tall Green Milkweed and Oval-Leaved Milkweed are necessary for monarch butterflies, because they only lay their eggs on milkweeds and cannot reproduce if it is not available. The monarch larvae only eat milkweed foliage and starve if none is available. Milkweeds are essential nectar sources for numerous species of adult butterflies and support many other interesting species of insects.

Then there are Golden Alexanders: Meadow Parsnip, Prairie Parsley, Yellow Pimpernel, Purplestem Angelica, Sweet Cicely, Black Snakeroot, Cow Parsnip and Rattlesnake Master, which belong to the parsley/carrot family.

Specific butterflies and bees: The parsley/carrot family is the sole host for the Missouri/Ozark woodland swallowtail (Papilio joanae) and the Parsnip, Black or Eastern Black Swallowtail (Papilo polyxenes asterius). A variety of native carrot/parsley species extends the breeding season for these butterflies. Like many native plants, Golden Alexanders have their own specialist bee, the oligolectic inconspicuous tiny black bee, Andrena ziziae.

Q. Could you give us a list of alternative native plants that might replace the non-native favorites?

A. Spring nonnative, invasive: Periwinkle, Vinca, Myrtle. Origin: Europe. Native alternatives: Barren Strawberry, Greek Valerian, Wild Blue Phlox, Wild Geranium, Wild Ginger. Non-native, invasive: Bradford Pear tree. Origin: Korea and China. Native Alternatives: Fringe Tree, Amelanchier, Redbud, Juneberry, Native Hawthorns.

Summer nonnative, invasive: Dame’s Rocket. Origin: Europe, Central Asia. Native alternatives: Beardtongues, Blazing Star, Fireweed, Great Blue Lobelia, Obedient Plant. Nonnative, invasive: Daylily. Origin: China, Korea, Japan. Native alternatives to Orange Daylilies: Butterflyweed, Orange Butterfly Milkweed and Purple Coneflower with orange centers.

Fall nonnative, invasive: Plume, Hardy Pampas and Ravenna Grasses. Origin: Europe. Native Alternatives: Big Bluestem, Turkey Foot, Beardgrass, Gammagrass, Indian Grass and Switch Grass. Nonnative invasive: Aster (blue/purple) including Alpine, Frikart’s and Italian Asters; Origin: Europe, Asia. Native Alternatives: Aromatic, New England, Smooth, Sky Blue, Azure and Silky Asters.

For the complete text, go to gardensightings.blogspot.com.