Part 3 - Planting The Seeds

Starting a tallgrass prairie restoration project in your community involves a little foresight. The site must be planned and tended to before the planting starts, the environmental conditions need to be assessed, and the species need to be chosen, collected and started. A common barrier that groups encounter when starting their restoration projects is a lack of local plants available for restoration purposes. Project C.A.R.E. hopes that this barrier can be broken down with the help of local students. Successfully growing from locally collected seed is a valuable resource.

There are two basic types of local grasses; cold season grasses and warm season grasses. Cold season grasses start growing early in the spring, and continuing to grow as long as rainy cool weather continues. They become dormant during the hot dry months of summer and then grow again in the cool fall months. Most native cold season grasses turn brown in hot dry conditions, however, they are not dead. Warm season grasses start growing in mid-spring and prosper during the hot dry summer months. Warm season grasses become dormant once there is a hard frost.

Understanding the basics of plant growth and necessary conditions for that growth is only the first step in working to restore a native tallgrass prairie. First, let's look more in depth at the processes that change the seed into a plant; germination and growth. The conditions for planting and the species specific requirements for successful plant growth are outlined on the species specific identification sheets.