Now is a good time to think about planting herbaceous species as part of an oak savanna restoration. Although planting can be done either spring or fall, the latter is…

Our annual seed collecting event was held Sunday Oct 13 2013 at Pleasant Valley Conservancy and Black Earth Rettenmund Prairie. A total of 20 people participated in part or all…

The Society for Ecological Restoration had its 5th World Conference Oct 7-11, 2013 in Madison. On Oct 11 Pleasant Valley Conservancy was pleased to help host the field trip on…

This has been a great year for purple milkweed growth and reproduction. I summarized the extent of growth and flowering at the end of June. Fortunately, rainfall has continued throughout the…

Sky blue aster (Aster oolentangiensis) is now in full bloom. This attractive but delicate plant is found primarily in dry to dry-mesic prairies. When we first started restoration, this species was…

The weather has been ideal for growth of Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans) and all the prairies and savannas are really lush. This is quite a contrast to last year, when…

Sawtooth sunflower (Helianthus grosseserratus) is predominantly a wet-mesic species but under some conditions can invade mesic sites. Although tall and showy, it is not especially desirable. Just like other sunflowers,…

The promised superb blazing star display at Black Earth Rettenmund Prairie has come to pass. (The 2 inches of rain last Thursday probably helped.) There are two species of blazing…

Upland boneset (Eupatorium sessilifolium) is an uncommon but attractive member of the oak savanna understory flora. It has a Conservation Coefficient of 9, and is on the Wisconsin DNR list…

Prairie dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum) is near its western distribution limit in our part of  Wisconsin, although the details are not very well established. This Silphium is distinguished by its very…