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David Salman, President/
Chief Horticulturist
Ava Salman, Marketing Director
Cindy Bellinger, Editor
Kerry Kirkpatrick, Web Design
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Soil Preparation for Native Plants
By David Salman
Because many wonderful native species are being introduced from the wild, the interest in growing natives is at an all time high. The many years of experience growing native plants in my New Mexico gardens have taught me the importance of understanding the relationship between soil and plant.
- Success with native plants comes from putting the right plant in the right soil, and only planting different species together when they have matching soil preferences.
The Theory
Some native plants are clay lovers and will languish in sandy or rocky soils. Conversely, plants that love very fast draining, nutrient-poor sandy or gravel soils quickly fail in clay. Rich, moisture retentive Mid-western prairie loam soils are often "too much of a good thing"; for many western native plants that are found in very infertile ("lean"), fast draining soils.
Identify Your Soil
 Identify the type of soil that predominates in your yard and look for native plants that grow best in that soil type. When dealing with soil conditions in your yard, it is much easier to select plants that are compatible to your native soil than it is to change the soil to meet the needs of the plants.
The same holds true for soil pH; over the long term, it is completely impractical to change an alkaline soil to an acid one and vice versa. However, to expand the range of native plants that you grow in your garden, it is feasible to create small areas of sandy soil or clay soil or rich, loamy soil. This is best accomplished by building berms using a specific soil mix or constructing raised beds and filling them with a specific soil mix.
Amending Soils
I strongly recommend amending the soil at planting time as this will enhance the garden performance of native plants. After all, we expect more from plants growing in our garden than we do from plants growing in their uncultivated wild habitat. After this initial bit of pampering at planting time, I use additional fertilizers sparingly, and only in the fall.
I use two basic recipes to amend the soil at planting time. Use the recommended rates listed on the bag labels for each ingredient.
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 To plant Xeric perennials (denoted with
  in our catalog); these plants like "lean"; (low fertility), fast draining soils. Avoid planting into clay, clay loam or heavy loam type soils (unless, like Callirhoe, it is the plant's preferred native soil). Sandy or gravel soils, sandy loam and sandy clay soils are the best for providing adequate drainage. Amend the bed or individual planting holes with Yum Yum Mix®, Soil Mender® Humate and Earth Magic® micorrihzal root inoculants. Mulch with crushed gravel or pine needles.
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 To plant native "hardy garden perennials;" these natives like moister, richer, more nutrient-rich soils. When planting into "lean"; soils add plenty of high quality compost like Soil Mender® Blend along with Yum Yum Mix®, Soil Mender® Humate and Earth Magic® micorrihzal root inoculants. Mulch with organic mulches such as coarse compost, shredded leaves and composted bark.
Making sure you match the right soil with the right plant will enhance not only your garden but your overall gardening experience. It will be much more successful. |
The Use of Organic Mulch
By Mary Ann Walz
Use mulches to moderate soil temperature, control weed growth and conserve moisture in both winter and summer. Organic mulches have another benefit, building the organic content of the soil as they decompose. While all mulches comprised of organic matter will eventually decompose, some will do so quickly and start the soil building process sooner.
Types of Organic Mulches
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 Chopped leaves make great mulch and help build the soil. Run a lawn mower over large dry leaves or place in a bag and stomp on them; pour them out. Over months, they will seemingly disappear but in fact they are decomposing into the soil below and turning into fine rich compost.
- Coarse compost is organic matter that takes longer to start breaking down. These include pine needles, pecan shells, shredded wood, and bark chips. Aide the decomposition process by adding a small amount nitrogen such as aged manure layered under the mulch.
Organic matter that has undergone some degree of decomposition becomes humus, which is essential for healthy soil. Humus helps retain soil moisture, it aids air penetration into the soil to improve root health and vigor, and it helps hold soil nutrients in the root zone where they are most available to plants.
Healthy soil is the growing medium for healthy plants, so it just makes sense to build your soil with mulch. Hardy garden perennials, non-xeric ornamental grasses, non-xeric groundcovers and non-native flowering shrubs are the plant categories in our High Country Garden catalog that grow best with organic mulches and humus rich garden soils.
David's Helpful Hints
 The Agastache (pronounced ä gäs TÄ key or ä GÄS tä key) are a showy, fragrant group of perennial herbs. The greatest concentration of Agastache species is found in the Southwestern U.S. and Northern Mexico, with the remaining species found scattered across the U.S., Europe and Asia. All of them have nectar rich flowers. The orange and pink-flowered ones are highly attractive to hummingbirds, while the blue-flowered ones are a favorite of butterflies and bees.
Planting: If you can grow Penstemon and Lavandula successfully, you'll enjoy growing Agastache. They need "lean"; infertile soil that is well-drained and prefer gravel mulches. They also appreciate deep but infrequent watering after their second growing season.
 In zone 5 and 6 areas of the country with wet winters, the southwestern species (A. cana, A. rupestris, A. aurantiaca and hybrids) are best planted on sunny south or west facing slopes, or in raised beds with sandy, fast-draining soil. The plant's crown should be planted high and then mulched with 2" deep layer of crushed gravel to keep it drier during cold, wet weather. "Blue Fortune" is the best, most cold hardy cultivar for cold, snowy winter areas east of Mississippi.
Maintenance: Fertilize once in the fall with Yum Yum Mix Winterizer and Planters II. Improve winter-hardiness and encourage re-seeding by leaving the stems intact over the winter. In mid-spring, cut the dead stems off just above the new foliage, about 4 or 5 inches above ground level.
Plant Combination
Try these flowering plants and grass combination to accent a special corner in your garden.
 Cerastium tomentosum Snow-in-Summer is a sure-to-please ground cover that grows easily in any well-drained soil. It spreads quickly by reseeding itself. Fragrant white flowers by the thousands highlight Snow-in-Summer in late spring. Shear off the faded flowers to maintain a tidy mat of fuzzy white leaves for the rest of the growing season. Zones 3-9.
 Salvia x 'Raspberry Delight'® Raspberry Delight Hybrid Bush Sage is astunning ever-blooming hybrid with a profusion of deeply-colored, raspberry-red flowers held well above its long, arching branches. The foliage is deep green and has a sweet herbal fragrance when brushed. Garden trials have shown it to be a vigorous grower, heat tolerant and cold-hardy. Not recommended for fall planting in Zone 6. Zones 6-10.
 Schizachyrium scoparium 'The Blues' is an exceptionally beautiful selection of this Great Plain native grass, notable for its intensely blue upright foliage. In the fall the leaves and seed heads change to a rich purple and burgundy color. Easily grown in any well-drained soil, "The Blues" is also an excellent choice planted into groundcovers with silver or bright green foliage where it"s blue leave will provide a pleasing contrast. Zones 4-9.
Garden Glossary — terms for the curious horticulturist.
Acidic soil: Soil with a pH level below 7; also called sour soil.
Alkaline soil: Soil with a pH level above 7; also called basic soil. More prevalent in Western regions.
Cultivar: A selection made from a plant species that has a particular attribute(s) or improvement(s) not found in plants of that species growing naturally in the wild. A cultivar must be propagated from the original parent plant by cuttings, division or tissue culture.
View all the Garden Terminology from our Ezines For more gardening articles, go here.
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Making sure you match the right soil with the right plant will enhance not only your garden but your overall gardening experience.
