2003 Plant Diversity Initiative

     An important part of the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum mission is to promote and enable the development of biologically diverse landscapes that emphasize native and well-adapted plants. This mission is based on the general premise that biologically diverse landscapes are both healthier and visually more appealing. Unfortunately, many modern landscapes are created using just a few species and cloned forms of plants that are often repeated indiscriminately with little thought to site appropriateness.
      One need only look at the problems associated with Dutch Elm disease, Pine Wilt disease, Siberian elm decline, etc. to realize the importance of diversity in limiting disease and insect problems in trees. As if we haven't learned our lesson, we still seem to plant large numbers of a few select types of trees such as Scotch Pine, 'Patmore' Green Ash, 'Autumn Blaze' Maple, Amur Maple, and so on. Because of a lack of diversity, the tree cover in many Great Plains communities is susceptible to a fairly narrow list of disease, insect and/or weather related threats.
      Several types of shrubs, herbaceous perennials and grasses could also be considered overused in many landscapes. 'Goldmound' Spirea, Feather Reed Grass, 'Stella d'Oro' Daylily and 'Maynight' Salvia are just a few examples of plants that seem to have magically appeared in nearly every planting over the last five years. For sure, these are good plants when properly used. They are tough, drought tolerant and adaptable to a wide range of soil types. However, because of our tendency to stick with the familiar, a wonderful variety of plants, many of which are native, are being overlooked. More people in the Great Plains should be familiar with such wonderful plants as Mountain Mahogany, Fremont's Clematis, Prairie Coneflower, Purple Prairie Clover, and Prairie Dropseed, to name a few.
      Beyond overuse another issue to consider is adaptability. One of the more common garden plants, purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), provides a good example. Although this beautiful plant deserves its spot in the landscape, it isn't always the best Echinacea choice for much of Nebraska. This plant is actually native to woodland edges in the Ozarks and Piedmont regions of the U.S., and some of its cultivars can struggle from disease and poor soils in the Great Plains. In Nebraska, E. purpurea should at least share the stage with a couple of native types. Both pale purple coneflower (E. pallida) and western purple coneflower (E. angustifolia) thrive in hot dry conditions and provide an airy lavender display that many consider to be superior in the genus.
      In an effort to increase visual and genetic diversity in the landscape, the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum is undertaking an information and promotion campaign to encourage the use of a greater variety of plants. To help with this effort, we have put together the attached landscape development guide. The guide provides information and recommendations to help with plant selection. It also includes a list of a few plants that are considered to be overused in some Nebraska landscapes. These are not bad plants or plants that should never be used. However, NSA funded projects will be reviewed closely to insure that these plants are used sparingly and appropriately.
      There are literally thousands of types of trees, shrubs, grasses, flowers and other plants that can be used in the landscape. Many suitable trees, shrubs, grasses and wildflowers are described in the attached lists. There are countless other resources to assist with plant selection, including local nursery and landscape professionals as well as numerous books, catalogs and periodicals, some of which are available through the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum. Another great option includes exploring plant related sites on the World Wide Web. A good place to start is the NSA web site at http://arboretum.unl.edu/. Other fruitful sites include the horticulture pages of Cooperative Extension Programs for Nebraska and surrounding states. The Nebraska and Iowa sites can be found at: http://ianrpubs.unl.edu/horticulture/ and http://www.extension.iastate.edu/pubs/ga.