Cat’s Paw Prairie 2011

[To see photos and stories of this prairie in other years, go to the links on the main Cat’s Paw Prairie page.]

This year it’s 9 years old.

1/6/2011

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8/4/2011  The Cat’s Paw Prairie has always had a lot of Queen Anne’s Lace.  It doesn’t seem to reduce the number of natives that grow and bloom, but it makes it more difficult to see them.  We tried mowing before the QAL went to seed, but it doesn’t seem to help.  Since Queen Anne’s Lace is a biennial, it might work to mow several times, several years in a row, but that might set back the prairie plants too.  Another solution is to ignore it, and let the prairie get taller and thicker, which should shade out the new seedlings.  That’s what we’re trying now.

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8/4/2011  There are plenty of native flowers in between the Queen Anne’s Lace.

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