South Carolina Native Plant Society - Piedmont Chapter News

Piedmont Chapter News and Field Trip reports

Piedmont Chapter News & Field Trip Reports


	Grass seed collecting

	Grass seed collecting

	Grass seed collecting

During October and early November, our prairie species are at their showiest and the Piedmont Chapter of the Native Plant Society took full advantage of this spectacular display. Fall is the best of the year to appreciate their beauty and the SCNPS offered some field trips to give members an opportunity to learn more about this endangered plant community.

November 11, 2006: Native Grass Seed Collection Field Trip, Blackjack Preserve, Rock Hill, SC

Several members of the Upstate and Piedmont Chapters of the SCNPS gathered to collect native season native grass seed. Species collected included: Virginia wild rye, little bluestem, bushy bluestem, split-beard bluestem, purpletop, and several others. The Blackjack Preserve is a remnant prairie community that is a SC Heritage Trust site. The native grass seed collected here will go to seed areas on National Forest land. Some of this seed may even go on Andy’s Prairie Restoration Site.

October 7, 2006: Tour of Prairie Restoration at Latta Plantation, Charlotte, NC

On October 7, several members of the SC and NC Native Plant Societies toured a Prairie Restoration site in the north Charlotte area. We toured the prairie restoration site located at Historic Latta Plantation, which is also home to the Carolina Raptor Center. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Parks and Recreation has several on-going Prairie Restoration sites plus a nursery to grow various forbs and warm season grasses. At the prairie restoration site, we got to see Georgia Aster and Schwintz’s Sunflower in full bloom. In addition, there are planting of some of the warm season grasses, including little bluestem. Management practices at the Latta Plantation Prairie Restoration site include dormant season prescribed burning.

September 29-30, 2006: Native Seed Collection Workshop at Winthrop University

People from North and South Carolina met at Winthrop University to learn about processing and storing collected seeds of native forbs. The workshop started with an overview of the Forest Service’s Seed Collection lab and some of the techniques that they use for processing and storing seed. Then Thursday afternoon, we went out to the field to collect seed from various forbs found in prairie communities. While out in the field, we visited the world’s largest population of Schwintz’s Sunflower. While this powerline area is under a conservation easement, there is tremendous pressure from nearby developments.

Next day, we cleaned the collected seed. Cleaning requires the use of screens so that you can separate the seed from leaves, twigs, and other debris. Andy Lazenby, a graduate student at Winthrop University, will use the seed for his prairie restoration research project. In the afternoon John Schmidt of Winthrop University covered various methods to germinate the seed to use either for planting or to test the viability of the seed.

July 30, 2006: Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens


	Doug Rurhren, head gardener for Stowe Gardens led our group. Photo by Robert Morrison.

	Despite the hot weather, we had a great turnout for this event! Photo by Robert Morrison.

	Fountain Gardens. Photo by Robert Morrison.

	White Gardens. Photo by Robert Morrison.

Temperatures were in the 90's but we had about 25 people from the NC and SC Native Plant Societies. Doug Rurhren is the head gardener and he started the tour with a history on the gardens. In 1989, Daniel J. Stowe, a retired textile executive from Belmont, North Carolina, reserved 450 acres and established a foundation to develop a world-class botanical garden. The gardens opened in 1992 and have been slowly expanded with the white and west gardens that opened 2003. Plans for future expansion include an orchard conservatory and a tramway. After the introduction, we moved out to the white garden, where as you have guessed from the name, features plants with white blooms only. Next garden on the tour was the four seasons gardens. The four season garden forms a courtyard off the main building and features a number of plants native to the United States. Finally, we toured the fountain gardens where water fountains added a "splash". One garden that we did not tour is the woodland trail where several rescue plants have been relocated. Right now the plants are not blooming, but it sounds like a great tour for the early spring when many woodland plants are in bloom.

June 5-6, 2004: Piedmont Chapter Hosts SCNPS Board Members Retreat - Andrew Jackson State Park, Lancaster SC

The SCNPS Board of Directors held a two day planning retreat at the Andrew Jackson State Park near Lancaster which was hosted by the Piedmont Chapter. Mary Morrison, board member and president of the Piedmont Chapter kindly arranged for our group to use the meeting facilities at the park. Our group participated in a nature walk as a part of the National Trails Day celebration. We enjoyed being a part of the nature walk and having the opportunity to observe the local flora and fauna. Following the morning nature walk we spent the remainder of the day meeting to review SCNPS business and plan for the future.

On Sunday morning, the group spent some time looking ahead to the 2005 symposium and discussing the society's long term goals and vision. We are fortunate to have very hard working, caring and dedicated people serving the society. As a result, SCNPS is making a difference in our state and each of us should be proud of the contribution the society is making.

A very sincere thank you to Mary and the Piedmont Chapter for helping to make the retreat a very big success!