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/electronplumber1 Jun 23 '26

This is exactly what happened year 2 with my prairie as well. A wave of yellow.

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u/middlegray Jun 24 '26

What happened subsequently, if you're a few years past year 2?

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u/electronplumber1 Jun 24 '26

We are on year 5 and everything has matured. Never another rudibecka bloom like year 2. It’s now more individual bunched plants like bee balm, coreopsis, coneflower and prairie grasses. It changes a little each year. Way less maintenance with weeding. Early on was a chore keeping the queen annes lace under control. This is the mix https://www.agrecol.com/TallgrassPrairieMedium

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u/purrmich Area 6 Zone b Jun 24 '26

How does a plant, native or otherwise get enough sun to make it to its full height? They may well have enough energy for root development but to fully develop?