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3/30/2021

Native Plants Spotlight – Shade Loving Perennials

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Picture
G. maculatum, Hardyplants at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
April is Native Plant Month in Ohio!  And while many of us wish to incorporate native plants into our landscape, some of us are dealing with shade in that landscape and struggle to find what might grow in this environment. Native shade loving plants are a nice choice for shady areas because it is an opportunity to mimic a naturalized forest structure. Native plants add  biodiversity needed to attract beneficial insects and songbirds that are generally found in wooded areas

According to the University of Delaware, research shows that aiming for a minimum of 70% native plant cover in your landscape is essential to provide enough food to support birds into adulthood. Researchers termed the areas with less than 70% a “habitat sink” or a place that is insufficient to support long-term bird survival or the survival of their young.
As with any type of garden you must consider the growing conditions (moisture, soil type, light, pH). With shade gardens you also need to ask yourself, what type of shade does your garden have? Is some light being filtered through the trees? Or is it shady part of the day and sunny the rest?

Typically, light shade means that the growing area has between 3-5 hours of direct sun. Partial shade equates to about 2 hours of sun a day and full shade means less than an hour of sun per day. In the case of dense shade, or no direct sun, growing conditions can be very limited and one should consider the fact that no plants may survive in this type of growing situation.  Some native woodland species that attract beneficial insects to consider for your shade garden are:
  • Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum) – Grows in part to full shade and in moist, well-drained soils.
  • Celandine Poppy or Wood Poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum) – Grows in part to full shade with rich, humus/loam, well-drained soils.
  • Zig Zag Goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis) – Grows in part to full shade with dry, well-drained soil.  
  • Sessile Trillium (Trillium sessile) – Grows in part shade to full shade with rich, moist, well- drained woodland soils.
Some plants are harder to find but you should never collect from the wild unless you have obtained a permit or you have express permission from the landowner. Native plants should be purchased from nurseries that propagate native plants and do not collect from the wild.

Native plants provide many benefits to us, our natural resources, and local ecosystem. These benefits include but are not limited to water conservation, filtering out water pollutants, lowering maintenance requirements, and providing vital habitat for birds and many other species of wildlife.

For information on the Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District annual plant sale go to https://www.warrenswcd.com/. If you have additional questions, please contact the Warren County Soil and Water Conservation office at 513-695-1337.

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4/8/2020

Ohio Native Plants

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Ohio’s native plants provide many wonderful benefits  to pollinators, Ohio’s economy, and the health of Ohio’s ecosystems.  We can see many of these common natives right here in Warren County!
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Black Gum Tree 
Black Gum Tree (Nyssa sylvatica), otherwise known as black gum, black tupelo or sour gum, is a native for most parts of Ohio. This tree has a wonderful glossy dark green foliage in the summer and turns to a bright orange-red in the autumn. At maturity, this tree has a oval shape and can reach heights of 60’ with a width of 25’. The black tupelo strongly prefers moist, well-drained, acidic soils but adapts to average, alkaline soils. This tree need full sun to partial sun to grow well.  
Reference: http://forestry.ohiodnr.gov/tupelo 
Photo credit: Chris Evans, University of Illinois, Bugwood.org

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Sassafras 
Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) is an aromatic, native tree found in wooded areas of Ohio. It is part of the Lauraceae family that includes such genera as spicebush (another great native) and avocado. This tree prefers moist, well-drained, soils and can reach a size of 30-50' in height and 25-40' in width. The leaves are uniquely shaped and can range from three lobed, mitten shaped to unlobed.  
Reference: https://bygl.osu.edu/node/739 
Photo credit: Ansel Oommen, Bugwood.org

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White Snakeroot 
White snakeroot (Ageratina altissima) is a herbaceous perennial plant that is often considered a weed because of its toxicity to animals and humans. It is part of the sunflower family and is identified by the white disk flowers that appear in late summer and early fall.  It has an interesting history as it was known to cause “milk sickness”. Milk from cows who had ingested this plant would contain high levels of the toxin tremetol. Numerous early settlers, including Abraham Lincoln’s mother, became afflicted and/or died from milk sickness in the Midwest.  
Reference: 
https://u.osu.edu/dassler.1/2014/09/14/eupatorium-rugosum/
https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/white-snakeroot 
Photo credit: David Stephens, Bugwood.org

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Canadian Wild Ginger 
Canadian wild ginger (Asarum canadense) is a perennial, low growing plant (4-8" high) that blooms in April, May and June and is typically found in shady areas. This is a colony forming (you will typically find more than one in the same location) plant that produces a pair of large, velvety, heart-shaped leaves. A ginger plant produces one flower at the base of the two leaves which can be dark red-brown to green-brown color.  This plant is becoming more popular with gardeners as a low maintenance groundcover for shade areas. This plant attracts butterflies and is a larval host to the pipeline swallowtail butterfly.  
Reference: 
https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=asca 
https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/wild-ginger/ 
Photo credit: Karan A. Rawlins, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org

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Cardinal Flower 
Lobelia cardinalis or cardinal flower is a native wildflower that grows in marshes, streambanks and low wooded areas. Cardinal flower has extremely showy red blossoms that grow on a spike. This plant is a must if you want to attract butterflies and hummingbirds as the color is irresistible to these creatures! Cardinal flowers can be grown in full sun or very light shade. The plants require moisture for good growth and they can be planted on the edge of a pond or marsh area.  

Reference: https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/lobelia_cardinalis.shtml 
Photo credit: David Stephens, Bugwood.org

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    Warren County SWCD Staff Blog

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  • Home
    • About
    • Contact Us
    • Board Supervisors
    • Staff
    • NRCS
    • Volunteer Opportunities
  • Events
    • EQUIPMENT NEEDS SURVEY
    • Urban Chat: Runoff Reduction Methods
    • Earth Day Tree Planting
    • Pond Clinic
    • Rain Barrel Workshop
    • Mental Health First Aid
  • Services
    • Agriculture >
      • Land Preservation
      • Cover Crops
    • GIS/Mapping
    • Property Owner Assistance >
      • Drainage, Erosion & Pond Assistance
      • Soil Testing
      • Water Testing
      • Stormwater Basin Inspections
      • Backyard Conservation >
        • Ohio Native Plants
        • Rain Gardens
        • Rain Barrels
        • Composting
      • Illicit Discharge Detection Program
  • PERMITS
    • Earth Disturbing in Warren County >
      • Earth Disturbing Permit Application
    • Floodplain Management >
      • Floodplain Determination Request Form
      • Flood Applications, Forms & Documents
  • Education
    • Education Ambassador
    • Programs >
      • Classroom Programs
      • Youth Programs
      • Community Outreach
    • Virtual Classroom
    • Program Loan Portal
    • HS Envirothon >
      • Envirothon Grant Program
    • Educator Workshops
  • Caesar Creek Collaborative
    • Meet the Collaborative
    • Our Work
  • Blogs
    • Conservation Connection
    • Education Connection
    • Development Digest
  • Camp Canopy Scholarship