YARD and GARDEN TIPS
 »LAWN CARE
 »FERTILIZERS
 »NATIVE PLANTS

LAWN CARE - smart and simple
A beautiful, well maintained lawn enhances your property value and provides a place for recreation and relaxation. But you may be making more work of your yard than is necessary. Did you know that a few simple changes in your lawn care practices can save you time and money, while improving the quality of your lawn? It's true! You'll also be protecting water resources. Just follow the tips below.

Mow high. Make your lawn cheaper and easier to maintain by mowing high -- three inches is the rule! The roots of your lawn grow as deep as the grass grows tall, so taller grass has deeper, healthier roots. Keep your lawn three inches or higher, and never cut off more than 1/3 of the blade each time you mow. Leave the clippings right on your lawn for a natural fertilizer rich in nutrients and organic matter.

Water sparingly. Over-watering can damage plants, stimulate fungus, and leach nutrients out of the soil.

Create a smaller lawn area. Use trees, shrubs and flowers to landscape the rest of your yard.

Landscape with deep-rooted native plants. They are naturally suited to our weather and soil conditions, which means less work for you! Check out the Native Plants section below.

Put rainwater to work for you. Border your lawn with deep-rooted flowers and shrubs to prevent water runoff. Direct down spouts into garden areas, or install rain barrels to collect water for use during dry weather.

Check out MSU's landscaping website. Healthy Landscape Practices is a site of the Michigan State University Extension service that has tip sheets on healthy landscape practices and earth friendly products.

FERTILIZERS - less may be more in the case of your yard
Did you know that over-application of fertilizers wastes money, ruins plants and pollutes our waterways? Be an informed consumer. Read on for more tips that save you time and money while protecting water quality.

Put your lawn to work for you! Grass clippings are the ideal food source, providing essential nutrients by releasing them slowly over time. Grass clippings, mulched leaves and compost also provide organic matter, which keeps soils from compacting. To learn more about composting, call the Michigan Composting Council at 517/371-7073.

Check yard and garden product labels. If you decide to use commercial fertilizers, always choose a low-phosphorous fertilizer (indicated by the middle number of the three number series on the bag, such as 34-3-4). Why? Most soils in this area are already high in phosphorus.

Spread lightly. Most manufacturers' guidelines are excessive for the Southeast Michigan area. One application of low phosphorus fertilizer in the fall is adequate for most lawns.

Make a clean sweep. Fertilizer can be an "asset" to your lawn, but it becomes a "pollutant" if it reaches our water ways. Keep fertilizers out of storm drains and ditches. Use a broom to clean up spills on sidewalks and driveways.

Get your soil tested. Learn what your lawn and garden need for optimum health and growth. In early spring (late March through mid April) you may participate in the Soil Testing program provided at a low cost through your county MSU Extension Agent. It is easy, and agents provide individual recommendations based on your soil test results.

In the Soil Testing program, homeowners dig up soil sample for their yards and drop the samples off at participating retailers, where they are forwarded to the University Extension service and analyzed. Homeowners receive an analysis of the soil to detemine the optimum nutirents needed in a fertilizer for their particular soil. Call your County MSU Extension Agent (phone number below) for a list of participating retailers and current fees.

It is important for homeowners to participate in the Soil Testing program because simply following the general directions listed by the manufacturer on a package of commercial fertilizer can lead to overapplication of the products, and, for soils in this region, excess phosphorus application. Excess phosphorus, nutrients and pesticides that are washed off fertilized yards along with stormwater can causes problems when they make their way into our creeks and rivers. Soil testing also helps watershed residents determine exactly what nutrients are needed, which saves time and money for the homeowner.

Useful links on fertilizers - The following three sites address soil testing to determine the optimum amount of fertilize to use so that you are not over-fertilizing (which results in the excess fertilizer draining into the river and polluting the river).
Lawn Talk: Fertilizing Schedule for Home Lawns has lawn care information for Northern Illinois (which is a similar area to southeast Michigan) of the University of Illinois Extension Service.
Fertilizing Landscape Plants is a fact sheet from the University of Ohio Extension service.
Responsible Fertilizer Practices for Lawns is a report of the University of Minnesota Extension Service, division of "Turfgrass Management for Protecting Water Quality".

NATIVE PLANTS - Reducing water runoff from yards is key to protecting water quality. Water that runs off lawns and gardens may contain fertilizers, soils and debris. When polluted water runoff enters storm drains and ditches, it is discharged into the river system unfiltered. Keeping our water ways cleaner and healthier protects drinking water resources.
    Native plants have deep, "thirsty" roots that help retain water on your site and filter out pollutants. Use native plants to create attractive, low-maintenance garden borders around lawns. Native plants also help stabilize soils and prevent erosion, making them a great choice for steep slopes or berms.
    If your home fronts on a lake, river or stream, it is especially important to prevent water runoff from your yard. Create a native plant buffer along the water’s edge, Keep the buffer at least 20 feet wide, with narrow access paths winding down to the water. Never apply fertilizers, pesticides or fungicides to the buffer area.

Why should we landscape with native plants?
Native plants are easier to grow because they are suited to our weather and soil conditions. The resilience of native plants is due in large part to their massive root systems. Because the roots reach deep into the soil – in some cases, as far down as ten feet – the plants can access water even during dry times. Their extensive root systems can also improve your soil. New root growth reduces soil compaction, and the die-off of old roots adds humus and nutrients to the soil.

Note the length of the roots of the plant on the far left. That plant is the grass/sod that is used in lawns. Now note the lengths of the roots of the rest of the plants. The roots of the grass/sod are only 2 inches long, the roots of the native plants are much longer with some extending as long as 15 FEET underground! Graphic Credit: Heidi Natura and Conservation Research Institute

By landscaping with native plants you help the Huron River because native plants are low maintenance and sustainable, which means they use less water and other resources.

Landscaping with native plants is good for you, too, because:

1. Native plants are drought tolerant, so you’ll water less.
2. Native plants are disease resistant and rarely require added fertilizers, saving you money.
3. Native plants improve soil conditions.

The are several sources to learn more about the wide variety of native plants suitable to this area.

• Check out the web site of Wild Ones, a national nonprofit organization that promotes the use of native plants in private and public landscaping at www.for-wild.org. You can find contact information for your local chapter of Wild Ones through the national website.
• Check out the web site of Native Plant Information Network. This website has lots of information on native plants including, (a) an online database of more than 2,900 native plant species, with color photographs, growing information, and more, (b) a national directory of more than 2,000 landscapers with experience using native plants, (c) a national directory of native plant and seed suppliers, and (d) downloadable fact sheets from the Wildflower Center's Clearinghouse, including regional Recommended Species lists, Native Plant Bibliographies, and Native Plant Organizations lists.
• Contact nursuries that sell native plants. Some sources in the Southeastern Michigan area are: Native Plant Nursery, Downtown Home and Garden in Ann Arbor (734/662-8122), Wildtype Nursey (517/244-1140), or Michigan Wildflower Farm (517/647-6010).
• The Natural Area Preservation Division of the Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation Department has produced a series of brochures about native landscaping.
  1. Native Trees of Southeastern Michigan
  2. Native Shrubs of Southeastern Michigan
  3. Native Wildflowers of Southeastern Michigan
  4. Native Vine, Grasses Sedges, and Ferns of Southeastern Michigan
  Written with the home landscaper in mind, each brochure provides tips and useful information on creating a native plant garden. Along with a description of native plants, information is included about natural habitat, site tolerance, plant height, bloom time, color, and other ornamental features.

  Each of the brochures is available for pickup at a cost of $1.00 per brochure. The original "Your Landscape and our Natural Areas" brochure is available for 25 cents (free with the purchase of a complete set of the 4 native plant brochures). Brochures can be picked up at the NAP office at the Leslie Science Center, 1831 Traver Road in Ann Arbor or at the Ann Arbor City Hall, 100 North Fifth Avenue, 6th floor. For more information about these brochures, call NAP at 734/996-3266.

What exactly is a native plant and why are native plants important?
Plants that are "native" have evolved in a particular region over thousands of years. They have adapted to the soil conditions, moisture conditions and weather conditions of that region.

Native plants occur in communities, that is, they have evolved together with other plants and animals. As a result, a community of native plants provides food and habitat for a variety of native wildlife species such as songbirds, butterflies and small wildlife. As the seasons change, you will enjoy watching a host of wildlife in your garden.

Cultivating native plants helps protect the splendid biodiversity of our area. Biodiversity - a variety of different species - is important to the health of the ecosystem. Diverse plant populations are less susceptible to devastation by disease, and they support a wider range of wildlife.

What is wrong with landscaping using non-native plants?
Non-native plants, also called exotic species, are those than have been transplanted from places where they did not evolve. In southeastern Michigan, sources of non-native plants include both other continents (Europe, Asia, Sough America, Africa, and Australia) as well as other ecosystem areas of the United States.

Introduction of non-native plants into our landscape has been both accidental and deliberate. If a non-native plant grows aggressively, it is considered "invasive" and can have devastating effects on other plant populations. Purple loosestrife, for example, was introduced from Europe in the 1800's in ship ballast and as a medicinal herb and ornamental plant. It quickly spread and is now crowding out the native species that provide food for aquatic creatures in 42 states. Other examples of invasive species in the southeastern Michigan area that produce an overabundance of seedlings which can sread into natural areas and displace native plant species and SHOULD NOT BE PLANTED include: Norway maple (acer plantanoides), Autumn Olive (Eleagnus umbellata), Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica, Rhamnus frangula), Privet (Ligustrum vulare) and Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica, Lonicera maackii, Lonicera tatarica).

When purchasing native plants, be sure to ask the exact source. Because plants vary from region to region, it is best to use stock from your local area or the next closest geographic region. Collecting plants in the wild can devastate plant populations, so be sure the stock was propagated at the nursery from plant division, cuttings or seed. See the links in the section above for suggested native plant sources, or ask your local nursery about obtaining native stock.

Last Updated: February 2006