We have a fairly steep, grassy hill in our back yard that is difficult to maintain, so I've been considering planting some wild flowers there so we don't have to continue mowing it. Any tips, advice, flower recommendations, etc. would be greatly appreciated!

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  • If your hill is steep (like, more than a 30% grade I would say) you likely will need to plant plugs instead of wildflower seeds, unless you don’t get much rain, or if you’re able to use some erosion control fabric (although I’m not sure if it would work in this exact scenario). I’m just repeating what some native plant landscapers that came to my property told me, seed mix will not be able to stay on a hill that has a steep enough incline. For my hill, instead I’m doing a stylized meadow with groupings of native grass and wildflower plugs that I’m trying to mostly grow myself via winter sowing to save on costs since it’s a relatively big hill. Hate to be the bearer of bad news but the native plant gardening subreddit also confirmed this. You may wanna check over there with a picture of the slope you’re thinking so that they can confirm. R/nativeplantgardening

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    The good news is that once is the perfect time to plant seeds in trays or milk jugs to plant out in the spring. Also consider some native shrubs and grasses. 

    parent root

    There's some pretty steep slope on the highway by my house that was growing a lot of wild black eyed susans or something similar. Maybe they do well on slopes. Also has a bunch of autumn olive which, besides being invasive, was introduced specifically for erosion control so at least it's doing its job there.

    parent root

  • You can try this mix:

    https://seedsource.com/tx-ok-native-roadside-mix/

    You’ll likely need to scalp the grass so there is bare ground for the seeds to make contact with. Also depending on your slope you might want to dig berms or employ some other kind of erosion control so the seeds don’t wash away.

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  • I think OSU Ag Extension has guides/ suggestions for this.

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  • Color Oklahoma has a great program for matching seed cost and they will advise you on species for your area!

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  • how much sun does it get?

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  • Oh I dunno how about NEW JERSEY TEA, HOARY PUCCOON, SIDE OATS GRAMMA, LUPINES, BREADROOT!, GREEN, ORANGE, CLASPING, SAND, ANTELOPE HORN, AND GREEN ANTELOPE HORN MILKWEEDS!! Got dang it you're lucky to be in Oklahoma lol that's a crazy beautiful flora you all get over there. maybe some castilleja too. Most of what Prairie Moon sells ranges down into Oklahoma

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  • Most wildflowers are annuals and will need to be planted new every spring. You can try and save the seeds yourself in the fall.

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