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The Deep Middle


Gardening & writing in the prairie echo

Using Sociability Rankings For Successful Natural Garden Design

4/15/2023

 
There's a seemingly overwhelming amount of variables to consider when selecting plants and designing a garden: height and width, growth habit, perennial / ephemeral / annual, reproduction method, root structure, fall color, winter structure, soil and drainage, sunlight, moisture levels. See? Toss in succession and the idea of plant communities and it is perhaps a bridge too far for many folks. But garden management -- the time you spend doing it down the road as well as the overall success of your landscape both aesthetically and ecologically -- depends on making the best, most informed decision before you ever dig a hole.

And I think for many, using a plant sociability index might be really helpful. If there's one thing that might be the most helpful, and certainly if the above lists feel daunting, this one might be it. Because let me tell you, the most issues for new, native plant, natural gardening folks is choosing the wrong plant for the wrong place, and in most cases that means a plant that grows too fast, gets too tall, spreads too easily. And while most plants will behave differently in a more manicured home garden than in the wild, we can still create a general baseline of behavior.

A commonly-used sociability rating or index may go something like this:

1 -- the plant is primarily a behaved clumper that stays where it is, only growing in stature over time
2 -- the plant will creep or self sow lightly
3 -- creeping is moderate or self sowing is more liberal but it won't take over
4 -- give it 5 years and the plant will easily dominate the landscape

There are caveats, as you can well imagine. Plants will perform differently in a home garden where there's less competition above AND below the soil line; in a wild prairie or meadow, for example, there could be dozens of species in one square foot. In our garden beds? Maybe just a few, too often simply 1-2. These plants, used to be being shorter or unable to reproduce as easily in the wild, will look at your more spacious and liberating bed and think "oh yeah baby, this is the life, booyah." And other specific cite conditions can influence plant behavior. For example, clay soil -- even dry clay soil -- can be a great equalizer. Why do plants flop? It's often because there's not enough competition (it's not about buttresses).

Let's look at some example species. You may not be familiar with them, they may not be native to your zipcode or ecoregion, but you're likely to know of cousins. Right now, we're speaking from where we know -- eastern Nebraska, urban landscapes, tallgrass / mixed grass / riparian woodland edge.

Level 1
Carex albicans
Baptisia minor
Heuchera richardsonii
Liatris aspera
Thalictrum dioicum

Level 2
Carex pensylvanica
Bouteloua gracilis
Echinacea purpurea
Pycnanthemum virginianum
Zizia aurea
Dalea purpurea
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
Callirhoe involucrata
Asclepias tuberosa
Monarda bradburiana
Penstemon cobaea

Level 3
Conoclinium coelestinum

Symphyotrichum laeve
Rudbeckia hirta
Schizachyrium scoparium
Senna hebecarpa

Level 4
Sorghastrum nutans
Andropogon gerardii
Helianthus maximiliani
Asclepias syriaca
Physostegia virginiana

What plants do you not want in a small urban front yard lawn conversion? Level 4, and level 3 if you don't have good plant density. What DO you want for sure? Level 1 and 2.

Another strategy is to plant like with like. So use all level 1 and 2, or use all level 3 and 4; the latter would be ideal to fight against aggressive or invasive exotic species. Once again, plant behavior is not a hard and fast rule -- we aren't working with parts to a bicycle here, but living organisms whose lives are partially dictated by the environment and climate and weather they find themselves in (just like us!). A level 3 plant may act more like a level 2 plant if the site conditions are outside what it prefers and / or if plant competition, layers, and community are thick and diverse. Take Conoclinium coelestinum, which prefers loam or loamy clay with medium moisture in 50-75% sun; put it in drier clay and it's much less aggressive (maybe even suffering a bit in August right before it blooms if it's a drought year).

So there you go. A primer on plant sociability rankings. These will vary by region and even micro climates and ecotype, but they can help provide a more cohesive, general baseline to work from -- much better than a plant tag. Over time, you're observations will help you create your own site-specific rankings to use for the rest of your life.
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Betsey Biggs
4/16/2023 08:28:38 am

How can we look up sociability rankings? It's been hard for me to find a database for this anywhere, and I'm also a bit confused about how it works when you are trying to ward against weeds in a brand new area (I believe in your book you recommend rudbeckia since it will spread so quickly and deter weeds?) Thank you!

Benjamin Vogt
4/16/2023 09:53:28 am

Not that I know of, although many designers mention them. Keep in mind, as noted above, there will be regional and site specific variability. I think these rankings come more through personal observation over years, than anything. Sorry it's not simpler. You CAN collate information from reliable sources and create a general baseline of plant behavior, but you won't know for sure until you put things into practice. I mean, plant density can have a huge effect on sociability, as can soil, light, and weather. Like most aspects to natural garden design, things are more dynamic and fluid -- and we have to play the long game and let plants teach us.

Carol Peoples
8/3/2023 11:28:30 am

Not sure of your ecoregion, but this table might be helpful. "Species Recommended for Use in Maryland Coastal Plain Meadow Projects". It is the only one I've seen that includes info about sociability (timid/moderate/ aggressive). https://extension.umd.edu/sites/extension.umd.edu/files/publications/Recommended%20Species%20for%20Meadow%20Creation%20in%20Maryland%E2%80%99s%20Coastal%20Plain_1.pdf

Cecile
9/10/2023 11:14:06 am

Thank you! Great resource

residential artificial grass link
4/20/2023 08:46:23 am

The selection of plants and the design of a garden can be a daunting task. With so many options and variables to consider, it can be difficult to know where to start. One of the first considerations is the climate and environment of the area where the garden will be located as this will determine the types of plants that can be used. Sunlight, soil type, and water availability are all factors that must be considered when selecting plants. It is also important to consider the size of the garden and the desired outcome, such as a formal garden, a wildflower meadow, a vegetable patch, or a combination of these.

Patti C.
5/29/2023 11:04:36 am

Question: I am trying to locate a webinar you presented, including these levels, and a lost of plants listed with Reproduction, competitiveness, longevity, etc. You had mentioned recommended species for small front yards. Would you happen to recall which one (of the many!)...?
Thank you so much in advance!

Benjamin Vogt
5/29/2023 11:24:13 am

the online class "Designing With Common Nursery Plants" and certainly the new book Prairie Up.

Benjamin Vogt
5/29/2023 11:54:47 am

Also, this will be even more helpful: https://wyethandwillow.wixsite.com/wyethandwillow/team-3

Jing Howard
11/21/2023 06:50:10 pm

Hi Benjamin, I'm trying to decide on which non-woody plant to choose for an area in my front lawn to mass plant. I live in Toronto and I want the plant to reach 1.5m tall. I would love mass planting some native grasses, mainly debating between little bluestem and bluejoint reedgrass (Calamagrostis canadensis). I've experimented with a couple of little bluestems and found they flop badly and they take too long to start early in the season (my garden is north-facing, warm up slowly in spring and get hot afternoon sun in summer). Bluejoint reedgrass is a cool season grass, but I've never grown it so I'm concerned that it could take over (It's rated invasive in ideal situation, and I know some local government is introducing biological control to suppress the growth of this invasive grass in some naturalized areas). Another perennial I'm considering is Arkansas bluestar. It should be much better behaved even though it doesn't reach the height I want and doesn't have the graceful movement and winter interest of grass that I love. Would greatly appreciate it if you could provide some insights?


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    Benjamin Vogt's thoughts on prairie gardening in Nebraska. With a healthy dose of landscape ethics, ecophilosophy, climate change,  and social justice.

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