Sometimes landscape design isn't about creating beautiful spaces, it's about practicalities. On a bare lot, with piles of blowing dirt, dust mitigation can be critical and if you're spending a lot of time and money trying to control weeds, you are probably looking for a better solution. Or, if mud and silt are moving through your landscape, erosion control could be one of your primary concerns.
The right plants can help solve each of these problems. Good plant choices for many of these situations are grasses such as creeping red fescue, mountain brome, pubescent wheatgrass, crested wheatgrass, perennial rye and dwarf fescue. The best time for planting these grasses is between Halloween and Thanksgiving, when soils are dry and the weather is cold enough to prevent germination through fall and most of winter. After sowing the seeds, water the area to help settle the seeds into the ground. Ideally, they will germinate in late winter to early spring, after winter precipitation. Irrigate the area in late winter if there has been no precipitation. All of the grasses mentioned will need irrigation to grow, but crested wheatgrass is one of the more drought-tolerant, while perennial rye is more water-thirsty.
Most of these grasses will also help control weeds. The theory behind planting for weed control is to put in plants that will out-compete the weeds. Since weeds are highly competitive, you need superheroes of the plant world to beat them out. This means that they should be fast-growing and very hardy. Wine cups, a member of the mallow family, could qualify. With drip irrigation, this trailing vine grows rapidly in full sun, covering vast areas. The 2-inch flowers are a deep magenta. Woolly yarrow is another drought-tolerant, quick filler. It has white flowers. However, be aware that once it is established, it can be hard to eliminate. Many of the bellflowers are also great weed barriers, requiring water only once or twice a week once they are established. Thymes, creeping geraniums, vinca and honeysuckle are additional options.
Erosion-control plants must have roots systems that grow quickly to hold the soil together and in place. Most of the plants mentioned so far work for erosion control on flat to slight slopes. For steeper slopes, crested wheatgrass and other wheatgrasses are known performers. Trees and shrubs with wide-spreading root systems are also options. Planting on steep slopes requires creating a planting shelf that slopes back toward the hill. This allows water to collect around the plant and soak in rather than run off down the hill. Ash, locust, lilac, currant, raspberry, forsythia and even juniper will hold soil in place once they are established.
If you have an area posing dust, weed or erosion problems, consider planting it with these or other drought-tolerant plants known to compete well with weeds. For more information on dust, weed and erosion control, or gardening in general, contact me, 887-2252 or skellyj@unce.unr.edu, or your local University of Nevada Cooperative Extension office. Check out many useful horticulture publications at www.unce.unr.edu. "Ask a Master Gardener" at mastergardeners@unce.unr.edu.
n JoAnne Skelly is the Carson City/Storey County Extension educator for University of Nevada Cooperative Extension.
