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What is the goal of restorative planting?
The goal with restoration planting is to return an area to a state as close as possible to its pre-disturbed condition, thereby restoring an ecological balance by re-establishing the native flora and fauna.
Many of us face significant damage to our properties from Hurricane Helene, including our home gardens as well as natural fields and woods. Thankfully, there are many fabulous folks in WNC dedicated to reforestation and replanting (looking at you, Asheville Greenworks!). While some aspects of restoration are easier and more successful in warmer months, there is plenty you can do right now to start healing damaged natural landscapes. Below, we’ve summarized a few key steps involved in beginning restoration.
Come see us this Saturday at Little Crafty for affordable wildlife habitat seed mix, live stakes, and select potted shrubs and trees to help start you on your way! Read more here about our offerings. Come spring, we will have our typical wide selection of plants of all kinds to help you further with restoration, as well as to fill up your cultivated landscapes that may have been damaged or altered by Helene.
Site Assessment:
WNC has sustained massive loss of trees, loss of riparian borders (shrubs, trees and undergrowth along stream banks), and loss of plants of all kinds due to flooding washing them away or burying them in silt. In order to know how to begin your restoration work, you need to first assess your needs - do you have one type of habitat or several in need of restoration? Your sun exposure, soil type, typical moisture levels, slope, and elevation (as well as flood plain potential) should be considered along with what the habitat looked like prior to the damage.
Invasive Species Removal
Removal of invasives prior to planting for habitat restoration will greatly increase your chances of success. Chemical control will give you a clean slate to work with and lead to a much healthier habitat long-term. Why not kill back those invasives via solarization (plastic sheeting) instead, you ask? First of all, you'd need to do this in the hottest months of the year, but secondly, you may be sterilizing your soil and adding microplastics to the environment. Herbicides such as glyphosate have a bad rap primarily because of widespread agricultural and industrial use, but herbicides have a fraction of the lifespan of plastic, and can be applied safely when following proper methods, making residential use statistically pretty innocuous. For a more in-depth look, check out this article explaining the argument for glyphosate prep during habitat restoration, including specific guidelines on proper use (note the minimum temperatures needed for application - best done in spring and fall).
At this point in our season, invasive species removal is challenging - it's too cold for chemical or solar removal, and hand removal is limited to items that are still visible after freezes. For larger areas, it may be best to wait till spring to plant. That said, many of us now have thick layers of sandy silt deposited, which may successfully smother many of the existing invasives for us.
Soil Preparation
While many native species are exceptionally tough plants, they still do abide by the ‘right plant for the right place’ motto. If your soils have been greatly altered by flooding or wash-out, then you may need to amend them.
Very few species will grow well in nothing but sand and/or rock, so adding some topsoil and compost to areas left in this condition is pretty essential for imminent planting - especially sowing seeds. If you want to start with planting some native shrubs and trees, you can dig large holes and add top soil and organic matter, then work on longer term solutions to prepare the rest of the sterile area for future planting. Big picture, you will need to mix in or top off the sandy/rocky substrate with a lot of organic material for both water retention and nutrients.
If you have soil that is mostly clay or sand, an affordable option to add more organic material is a thick bed of straw (composts quickly, will grow almost anything) or leaf mold (ideally partially composted and chopped into smaller pieces). You will need to continue adding organic matter to grow your soil, gradually improving aeration, water retention and drainage, and nutrition.
Planting
What species are best for your needs? You may have multiple types of sites that you intend to replant with different sun exposures, moisture levels, and soil types - this is why it’s important to do a thorough assessment of your space before choosing your plants. Below, we highlight three options for planting. Whatever methods you choose, make sure you water your items in thoroughly after planting regardless of dormancy/cool weather. Check out our list of options we will have available at Little Crafty here, and expect a wide selection when we reopen next March to aid in your restoration efforts!
Sowing - It's best to sow perennial seed mixes in fall/early winter after a couple killing frosts... which we've certainly had. Ideally, you should clear the debris (rake it off the soil surface), add a layer of compost for a boost, then sprinkle your seeds and cover with a thin layer of straw. For the best success, consider an herbicidal treatment first (as referenced above). Click here for more tips on sowing. (Note that the habitat seed mix we will have at Little Crafty is great for starting now!)
Live Stakes - These are dormant cuttings from woody plants that do best planted during the cold months. Because success is not ensured for every stake, it's recommended to plant them en masse. We will have bundles of select native live stakes available at Little Crafty. Click here (or help yourself to a handout at Little Crafty) to learn about how easy it is to plant live stakes, and even how to make your own! This is a very affordable way to get native shrubs and trees started, and is especially important for restoring stream bank habitat and preventing erosion from future high waters.
Transplanting - This is best done before the ground gets too cold, but we will have a select number of native shrubs and trees that are extra tough if you want to get a few in the ground that already have established root systems.
Planting Notes for Success on Hillsides
Use the "well technique" to aid with watering larger plants - create a divot in the bank below the plant with a berm of soil to form a water-retaining pocket
Plant shrubs so they are upright, smaller plants at the same angle as the ground
Plant live stakes in a diamond pattern approximately 2-3' apart
To reduce erosion, pin down coconut fiber matting and cut holes to plant through
Management
Don't forget this step! You will need to monitor your space for aggressive weeds, appropriate moisture, and overall health throughout the seasons, even if this is intended as a low-to-no-maintenance restoration. The more loving attention you give the area in the first year, the better it will succeed!
Further Reading
Click here for an excellent, detailed powerpoint on steam bank repair from NC State for thorough guidance on many of the above steps!
The losses to our region have been overwhelming, and this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to restoration. (We could dive much deeper into each step mentioned above, and likely will in later posts.) Recovery will take time - be patient with yourselves and the plants, and feel good about what you are doing for the environment! Every little bit helps, even if you simply toss some native seeds on a hill or plop a handful of live stakes into a stream bank! We are here for you with the plants you need to restore your land and gardens to full, vibrant health.
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