Corinne Trice

Lawn Alternatives

Lawn Troubles? Think outside the box! [link to text document]

If your grass looks like most of the turf grass in Chester County, your lawn is most likely composed of cool season grasses whose roots only extend about three inches below the soil surface. While cool season grasses are nice to walk on in bare feet or have a badminton match on, they score very low in the infiltration and evapotranspiration departments. In other words, rain water just sits on top of the lawn or quickly runs off. If you would like to reduce ponding on your property, decrease runoff coming off of your property, or improve water quality by making changes on your property, you have options!

Warm season grasses are a great place to start. They have deep root systems which provide increased infiltration and soil stabilization, helping to reduce soil erosion, ponding, and runoff. They also have improved evapotranspiration as compared to cool season grasses. They grow in bunches, and can provide texture to the landscape. There are a handful of native and popular warm season grasses which can be ordered from most local nurseries. Big bluestem, little bluestem, indiangrass, and switchgrass are all native to North America and are considered the most prominent species of the tallgrass prairie. They each provide bird habitat and have autumn appeal. Warm season grasses can be planted in fields, lawns, and gardens. They work best on dry and sunny sites.

Pesky Wet Spots

Do you have a spot on your property that you can’t mow during the rainy season because it’s too soggy? Your best bet is to plant a tree there to take up that water. If you have overhead wires, underground utilities, or other site restrictions, it might not be appropriate to plant a tree. In those cases, there are other options – either shrubs or herbaceous plants.

Is the wet spot on your lawn in a shady area? Trees suited for these conditions are sugar maple, river birch, flowering dogwood, and pin oak. Appropriate shrubs are smooth alder, pagoda dogwood, wild hydrangea, spicebush, and rosebay (rhododendron). Herbaceous perennial plants suited for shady and wet conditions are jack-in-the-pulpit, wild ginger, dutchman’s breeches, cardinal flower, golden ragwort, Jacob’s ladder, and foamflower. Native ferns which would also be appropriate include maidenhair fern, wood ferns, cinnamon fern, interrupted fern, and Christmas fern.Is it a sunny wet spot? Eastern white pine, tuliptree, red maple, white oak, and eastern hemlock are large trees that thrive on sunny and wet sites. A smaller tree that will do well in these conditions is a serviceberry, also known as shadbush. If you are looking for something in the 5-10 foot range, with robust root systems to hold the soil in place and increase infiltration and evapotranspiration, look no further than Pennsylvania native shrubs. Summersweet, red-osier dogwood, winterberry, red chokeberry, and ninebark are a few that would thrive in sunny and wet conditions. Perhaps woody vegetation just isn’t for you. While herbaceous plants don’t have as strong of roots and aren’t quite as good at taking up the water as trees and shrubs, they can still provide major improvements from cool season grasses found in lawns. Consider plants such as bee-balm, wild blue phlox, swamp milkweed, joe-pye-weed, gaura, oxeye sunflower, great blue lobelia, mountain mints, New England aster, New York ironweed, and culver’s root.

For scientific names of the plants discussed above and more information on benefits of landscaping with native plants, visit:

http://elibrary.dcnr.pa.gov/GetDocument?docId=1742582&DocName=sf-Native_Plants_Landscaping-brochure.pdf

Content provided by:

Cori Trice
Watershed Coordinator
Chester County Conservation District

Biological Indicators of Water Quality

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Examining the quality of a stream or waterway can be done in many ways and with different levels of technicality. However, you don’t necessarily need high end, precision sensors, or a warehouse full of expensive equipment to know how healthy a stream in your own backyard might be. A glimpse into the biodiversity of the critters that inhabit a fresh water ecosystem can reveal abundant information about the quality of the water and the overall status of the stream.

Streams in Chester County and across the globe are teeming with life. Some of that life is seen clear as day, while some hides under rocks or might even be too small to see with the naked eye. Groups of organisms that we can see and use as indicators of water quality include amphibians, macroinvertebrates, and fishes. While not true for every ecosystem, generally if you find a stream to be inhabited by many different types of species, chances are it’s in fairly good health. Certain groups of animals can tell you more than others based on their living requirements and tolerances. For example, salamanders and other amphibians are unique in that they have the novel ability to breathe through their skin. This is known a cutaneous respiration. While cutaneous respiration allows them to thrive in specialized environments, it also makes them very susceptible to absorbing toxins through their skin. It would not be uncommon to find an absence of salamanders or even deceased ones in heavily polluted streams or immediately following a toxic spill event. On another note, certain species of mayflies have specific tolerances for dissolved oxygen. They can only be found in pristine streams were persistently high levels of dissolved oxygen readily flows over their feather-like gills. Individual indicators such as these provide a glimpse into the overall quality of stream.

When water quality professionals examine biological indicators, often the community as a whole is assessed. Different species are assigned certain categories or weights based on their tolerances, or special living parameters. Many metrics are measured to determine a score that correlates with a certain degree of water quality. But you don’t need fancy metrics or calculations to learn about your stream’s health. Anyone with a few good identification books and an interest to explore can research the biodiversity in a nearby stream. So next time you are out and about on a hike, or walking your dog by a stream, take a second and flip over a rock or peer into a clear shallow pool. You may be surprised by what you discover.

Content provided by Tom Oranzi at Chester County Conservation District. Contact CCCD at 610-925-4920 ex 100.

Invasive Species: Why You Should Care and How to Help

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It is a common misconception that all non-native organisms are considered invasive species. In fact, some non-native species have valuable agricultural and medicinal uses. They are only considered invasive when they cause ecological or economic harm to their environment. The reason that this can become such a big issue is because humans are moving plant species to different regions at a much faster rate than the plants would spread through natural expansion. Most invasive species outcompete native organisms for limited resources and are capable of altering entire habitats. Not only do invasive plants degrade the quality of water and soil, but the further they spread, the more expensive it is to control them. Invasive plants have the ability to displace and kill off native species in pastures and cropland. Invasive pests can also cause major damage to a crop yield, resulting in economic loss.

Garlic Mustard Rosette – These invasive species release chemicals inhibiting the growth of nearby plant species

Lists of invasive plant species in Chester County can be found through resources like the Brandywine Conservancy, municipality ordinances, or PA DCNR. A few commonly-seen invasive species present in Chester County include garlic mustard (shown in the photo), tree-of-heaven (correlated with the spotted lanternfly), Norway maple, Canada thistle, and mile-a-minute weed.

There are several ways homeowners can take action to help control invasive species in Chester County. The easiest thing to do is to take precautions such as cleaning your boots before hiking in a new area. This prevents accidental transporting of non-native organisms into a different habitat. It is also important to eliminate the introduction of non-native species like exotic houseplants or aquarium pets into the outside environment. Buying native species, especially for landscaping purposes, is an effective way to reduce the spread of invasive species. It is important to be educated on native alternatives and have a conversation with your landscaper about the types of species you want on your property.

Lastly, early detection and rapid response is key to limiting Chester County’s invasive species and reducing the cost of controls. It is crucial to first familiarize yourself with plant species, what to look for, and how to dispose of invasive species properly if you choose to remove plants from your property on your own. A great way to have an impact is to volunteer with organizations and conservancies that hold invasive plant management projects. There are volunteer days dedicated to manually removing invasive plants, and even pests like the spotted lanternfly, in local parks and wildlife areas. You can report sightings to the Chester County Penn State Extension Office and find more information through DCNR and PA Department of Agriculture.

Content provided by:

Cori Trice
Watershed Coordinator
Chester County Conservation District