Everyone who has ever tried to grow plants has failed at some point. Maybe you set the cactus your aunt gave you for your birthday in the window only to watch it shrivel slowly despite watering it on schedule, or came outside one morning to see your newly planted bell pepper nibbled to the ground by a slug. It can be disheartening, and you probably have a friend who’s sworn off plants forever thanks to their “black thumb”. But no matter what your gardening frustrations, native plants are here to help. In this article we’ll talk about how you can plan a native garden that will require about a month of commitment, and then thrive on its own for years with just light weeding. That’s right: no water, no fertilizer, no pesticides.
Step 1: Know your soil and light profile
Native plants are adapted to live in Ohio. The top reason I’ve seen native plantings fail is because the plants were planted in a location that doesn’t meet their soil requirements. Light is pretty easy:
Full sun- sun touches the spot for the vast majority of the day
Part sun- is sun for a little more than half the day
Part shade- shade for a bit more than half a day
Full shade- shade most of the day
Soil moisture and texture are a little harder to figure out, but can still be done without special tools. Dig a small 3-5” hole in the spot you want to plant in and do a ribbon test with the soil from the bottom of the hole.
This video from Clemson Extension describes the ribbon test in depth, and how to determine if your soil is primarily sand, loam or clay-based. After the ribbon test check your hole every few days for a couple weeks and note how much moisture stays in the soil. A simple observation of wet (saturated, nearly dripping), moist (slightly wet to the touch) or dry (crumbly) is sufficient. This will give you a good idea of how wet or dry your soil usually is. Armed with this knowledge, and your knowledge of how much light hits your plot, you’re ready to choose your plants.
Step 2: Pick the right plants
You might like a plant for the colors of its flowers, the time it blooms, or because it attracts butterflies, but these are not good
first thoughts when choosing plants. Your first thought should always be “Can this plant thrive in the conditions I have?” My go-to resource is
Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center’s native plant search feature. Not only will it show you a list of Ohio native plants commonly sold at nurseries, but it will also let you narrow down your search by soil moisture and light requirements.
Step 3: Watering- A short commitment
Just like people, plants take a little while to settle into a new environment. Most perennials will require 2 weeks to a month of regular watering until their root systems are large enough to support the plant without your assistance. Trees will likely need more. During this time, make sure you’re really soaking the plant, especially if it’s in clay soil since the water will take a while to make it down to the roots of the plants. A soaker hose is a great investment for newer plantings, but if you’re using a watering can or standard hose, don’t hesitate to water the base of each plant, or group of plants, for 15-20 seconds before moving on. After a while you’ll start to notice that your plants are starting to grow noticeably and are less prone to wilting, and at this point you can taper off waterings. When perennials pop up the second year their root systems will be large enough that they won't need watered!
Step 4: Weed now and then and enjoy!
Some native plants are more tolerant of weeds than others. Anyone who’s grown Common Milkweed can attest to its ability to overrun any other plants that attempt to crowd it out. Other plants, such as Scarlet Beebalm and Royal Catchfly, will need more weeding to keep them from being overtaken by other species. A layer of mulch laid after planting does wonders for reducing weeds and helping soil retain moisture.
Step 5: Put off Pruning for a few months
It's tempting to dead-head flowers and cut back old, dead growth once fall rolls around. However, native plants have an important job to do during winter- provide food and housing to wildlife. Once new, green growth starts to emerge in the spring, you can take the hedge trimmers to the old dry stalks.