Burning or mowing is usually, but not always, conducted in mid-spring. The best time to burn is generally when the buds of the Sugar Maple tree are just opening. Burning removes the accumulated plant litter from the previous year's growth and exposes the soil surface to the warming rays of the sun. Burning encourages earlier soil warming and typically increases growth, flowering, and seed production of the native flowers and grasses. By waiting until these undesirable plants have initiated spring growth before burning, the fire will destroy their new growth and set them back, favoring the warm season prairie plants, most of which remain dormant under the soil and thus unharmed by the fire.
Timing is critical to success with burning.
It is generally recommended to burn in mid-spring rather than early spring. Dry prairies should be burned in late fall after most of the native plants have gone dormant, but the non-native cool season grasses are still active. Burning in very early spring can also be done successfully on dry prairies. In the event that burning your prairie meadow is not an option, mowing can be substituted. Although not quite as effective as burning, mowing and raking off the mowed material is a good substitute.