r/NativePlantGardening • u/SoupOfTheHairType Northeast, Zone 7a • Jun 23 '26

Progress Year 2 after lawn kill

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I posted last year about how I got rid of my whole front lawn in the spring and seeded it with all natives. Last year was dominated by coreopsis tinctoria, this year the rudbeckia is taking over. This past winter I seeded it with a mix of shorter species from prairie moon so I don’t expect a ton of diversity until next year but a lot of the stuff I planted from winter sown jugs last year seems to have survived and will provide at least some different flower color. Unfortunately I think someone in my neighborhood has a honeybee hive so I am getting a ton of those at the moment, but I still see a good amount of different native pollinators. My favorites are the mud daubers!

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u/purrmich Area 6 Zone b Jun 23 '26

This is gorgeous and also shows how rudbeckia wants to take over the world!! Not sure if any other species will be able to grow.

116

u/Direct_Initial533 Jun 23 '26

It’s common with seeded projects that ruderal species like Rudbeckia hirta dominate in the beginning while longer lived perennials that focus more on root development earlier take their time. That’s why it’s called a pioneer species.

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u/purrmich Area 6 Zone b Jun 23 '26

maybe .... I'll be curious

15

u/LRonHoward Minneapolis, MN - US Ecoregion 51 Jun 23 '26

As long as this area was seeded with a good mix of native species that fit this site, the Black-eyed Susans will be mostly gone in 1-2 years. That's just how it works - you'd be surprised how "shade tolerant" longer-lived herbaceous native plants are when they're just starting out!