Check out wildflowers at Marion County Lake
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
Have you been noticing the wildflowers growing in roadside rights-of-way and pastures this spring? With the abundant moisture we've received, they are out in full force.
For a closer look, people in Marion County can take a wildflower tour close to home, and they can do it on their own and at their leisure.
On June 1, Marion County Conservation Service and National Resources Conservation Service sponsored a wildflower tour at Marion County Lake. It was in an area of un-mowed native grassland just east of the dam.
Gary Schuler, district conservationist, Doug Spencer, rangeland management specialist, and David Kraft, state range conservationist, placed numbered flags at 78 native plants. Flyers were handed out which identified each plant, describing it and explaining how native Americans used it.
The flags will be in place until after the Fourth of July, so people still can take the tour on their own. Flyers may be picked up at the USDA Service Center at 301 Eisenhower Drive in Marion, the Marion County Record office, or the lake office.
To take the tour, drive across the dam to the east and continue a short distance until coming to a drive on the left marked with pink flags on either side. The flags marking the wildflowers can be spotted along the drive and beyond, in a circular area of several acres.
Planting wildflowers
According to Vaughn Sothman of Sharp Bros. Seed Co., Healy, wildflower seeds can't be scattered out on the ground and expected to take root and grow. They need the same soil preparation as domestic flowers.
Wildflower seeds should be sown in late fall or early spring in tilled ground. They should be planted shallow in full sun.
Once established, wildflowers are drought-tolerant, but they need help to get started. The soil surface should be kept moist, but avoid over-watering.
Wildflower seeds may be planted in rows, making it easier to identify the plants and weed the patch.
When wildflowers are six to eight inches high, the patch can be mowed once to help control weeds. They need no fertilizer.
Some wildflowers are perennials. Others are annuals but re-seed themselves every year, multiplying in the process. Perennials won't bloom the first year.
Sothman said people should not expect wildflowers to keep a trim look throughout the season. They usually don't bloom all summer long and get rather straggly by the end of the growing season, he said. This fact should be kept in mind when choosing the area in which to plant them.
