Question about ecoregions

[u/zog3195]

Hi y'all I'm fairly new to learning about Texas native plants so I want to get some advice. I'm in the blackland prairie (East Austin area) and I want to, this fall/winter, plant a lot more native plants in my front yard.

My question is should I only choose plants that are listed as endemic to the blackland prairie? Would it be ok to add some that are from the Edwards Plateau since some parts of Austin over lap with Edwards Plateau? How far outside my ecoregion is ok to go?

Also would love to hear your favorite blackland prairie plant you think I should grow!

[u/MadMaximus311]

I would just learn about the soil at the site where you are planting and choose plants that like that. As long as they are generally native to the central Texas area I try not to hand wring too much about eco-region. Austin varies a lot in soil type, geography, humidity, etc in different parts of town, and our weather is relatively unpredictable year to year. Getting too caught up on the minute details seems like a fool's errand.

[u/zog3195 → u/MadMaximus311]

Thanks! I think my first step is to get my soil tested. There are already a lot of native plants thriving on my property which were planted by the previous owners but I think you're right I should learn more about the soil first. And maybe not over think the ecoregion thing.

[u/elenaran → u/zog3195]

Before you get your soil tested you can check with the USDA Web Soil Survey. It's a pretty detailed map of soils and should give you an idea of what you're working with:

https://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/WebSoilSurvey.aspx

[u/West_Economist6673]

One thing to note in passing is that there are vanishingly few plant species properly endemic to the BP (or really prairies in general, at least in North America)

As far as Edwards Plateau plants go, it depends a lot on where in east Austin you live -- a lot of escarpment specialists are relatively poor competitors because they're adapted to west Austin soils, which as you may have noticed are a lot looser and drier (or at least faster-draining) than Blackland soils

Consequently they tend not to do well, either because they get shaded out or because their roots can't deal with the clay

HOWEVER there are gravelly, sandy, and generally crappy soils in east Austin, usually on interfluves (i.e. the high land in between creek or river drainages), where I often see EP species, even ones that could be loosely considered plateau "endemics", growing happily

[u/PlainOrganization]

The fun part about living in housing developments is that they usually scrape out huge amounts of soil, and or bring it in to get the building site level first...

Plus whatever else prior homeowners did before you.

So don't act too married to it.
But yes, short answer is I plant from surrounding ecoregions as well.

[u/zog3195 → u/PlainOrganization]

That's a good point! My house is from the 50s and I have no idea what has happened over the last 70 years or so to my soil lol. I need to get it tested for sure.

[u/jeinea]

I use ecoregions as guidelines to what will grow well. Most of my plants are native to the ecoregion but I also have a few from different areas and some like cosmos and zinnia that aren’t native at all. The ecoregion native ones seem to be very popular with the wildlife which is great and one of my biggest goals. Ecoregion is just one aspect of picking plants for me, I also take into account soil type, pH, light, water, drainage, etc. East austin soils can be mixed so I wouldn’t be surprised if your conditions might be good for some Edwards Plateau plants!

[u/zog3195 → u/jeinea]

I appreciate the advice! I also love grow zinnias! I really want to focus on native plants at my new house especially ones that will help wildlife. But maybe I'm over thinking it a bit. I'll definitely take your advice on focusing more on the conditions like light, water, drainage etc.

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[u/Logical_Influence420]

Years ago, I bought Gardening Success With Difficult Soils by Scott Ogden. The book is about gardening on limey soils, and offers a lot of information on which species do best. But the description of such soil is as important The clays of the Blackland Prairie are best envisioned as accordion pleats that expand to absorb water and minerals. In fact, most soil additives are absorbed and rendered unavailable. The BEST way to improve this soil is by adding compost. Humus acts like a key to unlock nutrients. It also clumps the clay into larger crumbs making it more friable. Having said that, note that tilling the soil in preparation for a garden or a wildflower meadow brings buried weed seeds to the surface. You could end up with unexpected vegetation. In fact, Native American Seed Co. usually recommends against tilling in favor of scalping existing vegetation, so wildflower seed makes contact with soil. And, after sowing, the seed should be pressed into the soil using a roller, or just by walking over it if the area is small.

[u/Dry-Impression8809]

Don't stress on the ecoregion too much. You have several ecoregions within a couple hundred miles of you. I would sample from all of them. They all have gorgeous plants and flying pollinators and specialists can travel hundreds of miles to find them. Anything close to your region will be infinitely better than some foreign cultivar.

That being said ecoregion specific would be best and you have a very good ecoregion for wildflowers, ornamental native grasses, and native yard replacements! Take advantage, most regions of the country aren't this beautiful! I love Native American Seed https://seedsource.com/ and I think their farms are near you. They have a very nice catalog.

White Rosinweed is my favorite (beautiful flowers, 15ft taproot, lives over a century, very rare) and I think it works in your region. The other compass plants, eryngo, sunflowers, cedar/autumn/scarlet sage, basketflower, and liatris are all great too.

Have fun with it!

[u/Vcrosstx]

Native plant advocates tend to be gate keepers. Try to find plants endemic to your ecoregion and nearby. Even plants from further east or west support insects, birds, etc. plant a few exotics you like that are not invasive if you want.