Specifying and Sourcing Native Plant Materials Introduction to Landscapes on the Edge: Design & Implementation of Projects on Puget Sound Shorelines and Urban Ravines Center for Urban Horticulture November 16, 2016 Scott Moore Snohomish County Public Works Native Plant Program
58
Embed
Plant Materials and Planting Techniques...Planting Season •Oct to April in PNW •Coincides with root growth period •Fall optimal for woody plants •Bare root late winter- early
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Specifying and Sourcing Native Plant Materials
Introduction to Landscapes on the Edge: Design & Implementation of Projects on Puget Sound Shorelines and Urban Ravines
• What type of plant material should be used (seed, cuttings, or plants)?
• What are appropriate genetic sources for each species? Provenance
• What is the proper season for outplanting or seeding (the outplanting or seeding window)
• What methods will be used to install plant materials & what post installation plant care is appropriate?
• Right place, right plant
Provenance
• highest regional genetic affinity• Genetic considerations are fundamental to the success of ecological
restoration• local versus non-local plant material• based on sound population genetic, ecological, and evolutionary theory
research; • selection of plant material to be used in ecological restoration is often
driven by the specific project goals, availability and quality of plant material, site conditions, and scale of the project.
• issues related to small population dynamics, gene flow in the modern landscape, and gene expression affecting community structure and ecosystem functions can affect the success of ecological restoration activities.
• genetics of small populations (inbreeding and outbreeding depression, founder effects, and fitness consequences of reduced genetic variation
Seed zones
• Elevation• Temperature• Precipitation
• Watershed
Plant Establishment Methods
• Natural Recruitment – maximizing natural regeneration• Proximity of natural & desirable plant community
• Optimize recruitment
• Direct Seeding
• Outplanting Nursery stock
Planting Season
•Oct to April in PNW • Coincides with root growth
period• Fall optimal for woody
plants • Bare root late winter- early
spring• Perennials early spring?• Broader time for container
stock• Summer?
• Soil moisture or watering?
Optimal planting times for site & material
Type of plant material
•Seed
•Live stakes
•Plugs
•Bare root
•Container or barerootedcontainer stock
•Salvaged
•Ball and Burlap
Plant materials selection matrix
Acquisition
Availability: commonly occuring? Relatively rare?
Plan early: increased demand,
Sources
Work horse species
Specialist species
Standard specifications
• Common in engineering plan sets
• Common in landscaping plans
• Container vs plant size, caliper, branching, etc.
Plan development and Review
• You maybe creating your own plan in house & doing all the on the ground work. But your grant source may want to know what your plan is!
• Or you are reviewing plan from second party (consultant)
• And maybe contracting with a third party to actually do the construction work
• And maybe a subcontractor is securing plants and doing installation
• And a plan and specifications will help in estimating costs.
Specification minimums
• Plant name• Common• Scientific (Genus species)
• Quantity
• Size (container or material type)
• Spacing• Per acre (trees per acre, tpa) (shrubs per acre, spa) 435 tpa = 10’ OC• On center (3 ft on center)
Cuttings: piece of stem, branch, or root, separated a host plant and used to create a new plant:.
Live stakes: .5 – 1.5 inch dia 2-4 ft longWhips: soil bioengineering: fascines, brush mats, etc.
.25-1.5 inch dia 4- 6ft longPoles: 1.5 – 3 inch dia 4 - 8ft longPosts: 3 – 12+ inch dia 8 ft – 16 ft long….
VersatileInexpensive to produceEasy InstallationEasy handlingHigh mortalityLimited Species Limited to dormant season*Low maintenanceLow genetic diversity “clones”
Rooting potential
Survival potential
Target plant density
Area to plant
Desired established plant densities
Length of cuttings.
Live Stakesrelatively short length cutting inserted
vertically into ground.
Vegetative applications and installations
Ravines, Steep slopes, and Bluffs
soil plant bioengineering strategies
Plants appropriate for live staking
• Willow• Sitka Salix sitchensis
• Pacific Salix lucida
• Hooker Salix hookeriana
• Scouler Salix scouleriana
• Dogwood• Red osier Cornus sericea
• Rose family• Ninebark Physocarpus capitatus
• Salmonberry Rubus spectabilis
• Honeysuckle• Twinberry Lonicera involucrata
• Snowberry Symphoricarpos albus
Rooted cuttings
• Increased resiliency
• Summer bioengineering installations
• Browse protection
• Provide better leaf area to root area ratio
• Low soil volume container plant
• Pre-rooted live stake
Bareroot
Great care in handling
Greater skill for planting
Low cost
Medium mortality
Medium aftercare
Seasonal availability
Don’t let those roots dry out!
Bareroot sizing, provenance, availability
wacd-pmc
Plugs
usually herbaceous plants and graminoids
Low cost per plant
Low handling cost
Lower mortality
Limited species
Medium planting skill
Low - Medium mortality
ContainerHigher cost per plantLow handling cost Lower mortalityMost species availableLower skill for planting*Medium mortalityMedium aftercare
Variety of Container types and volumes
4” 1 gal2, 3, 5, 7, 10+
Tall potsPrerooted livestakes
Variety of containers
• Containers (variety of volumes)
• 4”
• 1gal
• 2, 3, 5, +
• Tall pots
• Prerooted livestakes
Salvaged material
• Transplanting difficulty is species specific
• Site permission
• Positive plant identification,
• Some difficulty in prep/digging, and handling/transporting..