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Kyler Tvedt

Mr. Rudebusch

English Composition IV

7 January 2019

What Benefits Will Native Plants Have On Your Landscaping?

On average, most homeowners spend over $3,000 per year on lawn and landscaping

maintenance. When it comes to buying plants and maintaining your landscaping and lawn;

fertilizers, trimming, spraying, and watering all come into place. However, instead of

homeowners planting what grows best, they are planting plants that look fascinating and

different than the landscaping of other homes. When homeowners are buying these types of

plants, they are not always thinking about other factors that relate to the plants. To solve the

problem of less maintenance and money, landscaping companies and homeowners should plant

native plants in their landscaping and yards.

Native plants have adapted to our environment, and ultimately make for a more attractive

yard. Native plants are part of nature in an area that have developed over thousands of years in a

particular region or ecosystem. They are meant to grow in specific locations where they grow

best and have adapted to their climate unlike non-native plants that grow like weeds in some

cases and have not adapted to a specific region. According to Amy Livingston, a member of the

United States Environmental Protection Agency, “Native plants have adapted to their local

climate, from periods of drought, to a hard freeze in the winter. They deal with common pests

and diseases, and sometimes even larger animals.” Knowing that native plants grow well in your
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area can help decide what you want to plant in your landscaping or yard. Therefore, native

plants will grow better and will last longer than a non-native plants.

Native plants are easier to care for. According to an article by Chan Cusack, from the

United States Department of Agriculture who conducted a study on plant health, the “deep root

systems of many native midwestern plants increase soil’s capacity to store water.” Having deep

root systems help make plants stronger and healthier. Deeper and stronger root systems help hold

water to keep the soil moist and stay healthy. As a result, less irrigation and no fertilizers are

needed to help native plants grow well and require less maintenance. Native plants, having their

strong root systems and moist soil, reduce water runoff and most of all flooding.

Planting native plants helps preserve lawn soil health. South Dakota has very fertile soil

that contributes to plants growing well in our area and why farming is our biggest industry.

Along with farming and our fertile soil, farmers and landscaping companies think they can grow

almost anything in our area. To help these non-native plants grow in our area, fertilizers and

pesticides are applied to fields and lawns. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control,

“home owners use 10 times more chemical pesticides per acre on their lawns than farmers use on

their crops.” Eighty million pounds of pesticide and 90 million pounds of chemical fertilizers are

used on lawns annually in the U.S. Consequently, the amount of fertilizer and pesticides we use

helps plants grow but overuse can cause the soil to lose its it fertility. Chemicals that are used in

the fertilizers and pesticides can decrease the amount of natural nutrients in the soil. According

to the Farm Study Journal who has studied the effects of weeds and other non-native plants,

plants that are not native to an area use nutrients such as carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen more

than what a native plants would. Non-native plants usually do not last as long in our region and
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can ruin our topsoil from taking its nutrients and using artificial nutrients, such as fertilizer, to

grow plants. When homeowners plant these non-native plants they have to replace the lost

nutrients with more fertilizer to keep the plants healthy. This large amount of chemicals can have

a major impact on the environment.

Planting native species reduces the need for fertilizers and pesticides, reducing

homeowners’ risks for chemical exposure. According to USDA Alternative Farming System

Information Center, who has studied the effects of fertilizers and pesticides on the environment,

all the nutrients from fertilizer and pesticides that are used runs off into waterways and causes

algae to grow. When the algae dies, it sinks to the bottom and decomposes causing oxygen to be

removed from the water. Fish and other aquatic life either die from this or move to other

locations. Other environmental problems, such as exhaust from lawn mowers and other

gardening equipment, contribute to 5% of the nation’s air pollution. In relation, the Soil and

Conservation District states that about forty million lawnmowers consume 200 million gallons of

gasoline per year and produces 11 times the air pollution of a new car. On the other hand,

growing native plants will decrease the amount of maintenance required to your landscaping and

lawn, reducing the amount pollution in the environment.

Although most people do not enjoy wildlife and insects near their home, the wildlife and

insects will contribute to healthy and attractive landscaping. Instead of providing your own

fertilizer, some animals and insects are attracted to native plants and will keep your plants

healthy by providing fertilizer and nutrients. For example, research by an entomologist from the

National Audubon Society, Doug Tallamy, has shown that native oak trees support over 500

species of caterpillars, where as ginkgos, a popular tree planted from Asia hosts 5 species of
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caterpillars. If you plant native plants in your landscaping or yard you could be providing a

habitat for an insect or animal that might not be able to survive without native plants. The more

native plants you grow the more native animals and insects there may be.

Once non-native plants have grown, they are difficult to contain and control. If

homeowners want non-native plants for their landscaping, they should consider some problems

those plants can cause. According to Dr. McHaffie of the Royal Botanical Gardens, “Once an

invasive species becomes established, it becomes virtually impossible to control.” Plants in our

area such as thistles or the leafy spurge are invasive species that have affected landowners in

North and South Dakota. The thistle causes the most damage in our area growing almost

anywhere from ditches to in your flower bed. Non-native plants such as these are weeds to our

area. Once the non-native plants are growing, they can spread quickly. When the non-native

plants spread, they grow in loose soil and can invade native plants crowding and choking them of

light and nutrients. One way homeowners control this problem is applying weed killer. It takes

repeated application to fully exterminate the weeds and other non-native species. This repeated

application can impact native plants as well as the environment. Planting native plants will

reduce the amount of non-native plants intruding and will grow well without major problems.

Homeowners and landscaping companies should plant native plants. Non-native plants

have caused plenty of pollution and maintenance problems for homeowners. Native plants will

help you in the long run, by saving money that is not spent on irrigation, fertilizers, and sprays.

Few popular native plants that you can plant in South Dakota are maple trees, spruce trees, ash

trees, sunflowers, roses, wheat grass, junipers, milkweed, and many more. Growing native plants
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will not only keep the environment healthy, but it will protect groundwater and runoff of

chemicals.
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Work Cited

Cusack, Chan.” What’s so great about native plants?” East Multnomah Soil and Conservation

District, 2009. Web. n.d. https://emswcd.org/native-plants/native-plant-benefits/

Farm Journal. “Chemicals in the Farm Ecosystem.” ​Kenyon.edu.​ Feb. 1994.

https://www2.kenyon.edu/projects/farmschool/nature/chem.htm

How Fertilizers Harm Earth More Than Help Your Lawn. Scientific American. n.d. Web. 2018.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-fertilizers-harm-earth/

Livingston, Amy. “Landscaping With Native Plants - Benefits and How to Plan Your Yard.”

Money Crashers. Money Crashers, n.d. Web. n.d.

https://www.moneycrashers.com/landscaping-native-plants/

Why Native Plants Matter. Audubon, n.d. Web. n.d.

https://www.audubon.org/content/why-native-plants-matter

Young, Jennifer. “Problems of Non-Native Invasive Plant Species.” Decoded Science. Decoded

Science, n.d. Web. 7 June. 2011.

https://www.decodedscience.org/problems-of-non-native-invasive-plant-species/1180