A properly installed and maintained prairie meadow is a self-sustaining plant community that will provide landscape beauty for decades to come. Installation of prairie meadows is not quite as simple as tilling up the soil and sprinkling some seed in the ground. There are five critical steps that must be followed to ensure success with this new landscaping style. By following each step carefully and completely, outstanding results can be achieved, even by those who have little or no experience in establishing native prairies. The area to be planted to prairie must be sunny, open, and well-ventilated.
Prairie plants require at least a half a day of full sun.
Full sun is best, and strongly recommended, especially for wet soils or heavy clay soils. Good air movement is also critical, as prairie plants are adapted to open sites that do not experience stagnant air. Poor air circulation in closed in areas can lead to fungal diseases, which are not normally a problem on sunny, open sites. Areas with a history of heavy weed growth should be avoided, if possible. This is especially true if a site has well-established perennial noxious weeds.