Designing rain gardens (bio-retention areas) - Page 10 |
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10 plant type. Ornamental grasses and evergreens are well suited for spring planting. Deciduous trees and shrubs are best planted in the fall to early winter. Smaller herbaceous species can be planted in spring or fall. Planting the rain garden often dictates the timing of construction. It is very important that the watershed draining into the rain garden be stable before planting. As with any garden, rain gardens must be maintained. Make sure you know the horticultural needs of the plants you choose. Once the plants are in the ground they cannot be entirely ignored and be expected to survive. It is important to inspect rain gardens seasonally or after substantial rainfall—particularly early on. Small mainte-nance needs include removing trash and other unwanted debris from the garden and replacing mulch. The more a rain garden is treated as a garden, the more apt it is to be attractive and flourish. Latin name Common name N.C. habitat Size/form Acer negundo Box elder Across N.C. Small tree Acer rubrum Red maple Across N.C. Medium tree Aronia arbutifolia Red chokeberry Across N.C. Medium shrub Cercis canadensis Redbud Across N.C. Large shrub Clethra alnifolia Sweet pepperbush Coastal plain, piedmont Medium shrub Cornus sericea ssp. stolonifera Red osier dogwood Piedmont, mountains Medium-small shrub Cyrilla racemiflora Ti-ti Coastal plain Large shrub (semi-evergreen) Diospyros virginiana Persimmon Piedmont, mountains Small-medium tree Euonymus americana Strawberry bush Across N.C. Small shrub Fraxinus pennsylvanica Green ash Piedmont, coastal plain Medium tree Hypericum frondosum St. John’s wort Piedmont, coastal plain Ground cover/herbaceous Ilex vomitoria Dwarf yaupon Coastal plain Small shrub (evergreen) Juniperus virginiana Grey owl red cedar Across N.C. Shrub (evergreen) Magnolia virginiana Sweetbay (magnolia) Coastal plain Small tree (evergreen) Myrica cerifera Wax myrtle Across N.C. Large shrub (evergreen) Pinus palustris Longleaf pine Coastal plain, piedmont Tall tree (evergreen) Pinus taeda Loblolly pine Piedmont, coastal plain Medium tree (evergreen) Quercus pagoda Cherrybark oak Piedmont, coastal plain Large tree Sambucus canadensis American elderberry Across N.C. Medium shrub Scuttellaria integrifolia Scull cap Across N.C. Ground cover Table 7. Listing of shrubs and trees potentially used in rain gardens/bio-retention areas Costs Costs of rain gardens are affected by four primary factors: 1) the type of in-situ soil (sand or clay), 2) the topography (flat or hilly), 3) the types of vegetation selected, and 4) the required surface area. The first two factors can make rain garden construction much less expensive in the coastal plain and sandhills than in the piedmont and mountains (though some mountain soils, particularly in abandoned flood plains, tend to be quite sandy). The type of soil dictates the costs of excavating, hauling, installing pipes, and importing new soil and rocks. With sandy soils, most excavation and hauling costs are minimized; there are often no pipe and soil importation costs. However, if the rain garden site is located in an area where heavy equipment has passed several times (such as a townhouse construction site), it may be important to install underdrain pipes even in
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Title | Designing rain gardens (bio-retention areas) - Page 10 |
Full Text | 10 plant type. Ornamental grasses and evergreens are well suited for spring planting. Deciduous trees and shrubs are best planted in the fall to early winter. Smaller herbaceous species can be planted in spring or fall. Planting the rain garden often dictates the timing of construction. It is very important that the watershed draining into the rain garden be stable before planting. As with any garden, rain gardens must be maintained. Make sure you know the horticultural needs of the plants you choose. Once the plants are in the ground they cannot be entirely ignored and be expected to survive. It is important to inspect rain gardens seasonally or after substantial rainfall—particularly early on. Small mainte-nance needs include removing trash and other unwanted debris from the garden and replacing mulch. The more a rain garden is treated as a garden, the more apt it is to be attractive and flourish. Latin name Common name N.C. habitat Size/form Acer negundo Box elder Across N.C. Small tree Acer rubrum Red maple Across N.C. Medium tree Aronia arbutifolia Red chokeberry Across N.C. Medium shrub Cercis canadensis Redbud Across N.C. Large shrub Clethra alnifolia Sweet pepperbush Coastal plain, piedmont Medium shrub Cornus sericea ssp. stolonifera Red osier dogwood Piedmont, mountains Medium-small shrub Cyrilla racemiflora Ti-ti Coastal plain Large shrub (semi-evergreen) Diospyros virginiana Persimmon Piedmont, mountains Small-medium tree Euonymus americana Strawberry bush Across N.C. Small shrub Fraxinus pennsylvanica Green ash Piedmont, coastal plain Medium tree Hypericum frondosum St. John’s wort Piedmont, coastal plain Ground cover/herbaceous Ilex vomitoria Dwarf yaupon Coastal plain Small shrub (evergreen) Juniperus virginiana Grey owl red cedar Across N.C. Shrub (evergreen) Magnolia virginiana Sweetbay (magnolia) Coastal plain Small tree (evergreen) Myrica cerifera Wax myrtle Across N.C. Large shrub (evergreen) Pinus palustris Longleaf pine Coastal plain, piedmont Tall tree (evergreen) Pinus taeda Loblolly pine Piedmont, coastal plain Medium tree (evergreen) Quercus pagoda Cherrybark oak Piedmont, coastal plain Large tree Sambucus canadensis American elderberry Across N.C. Medium shrub Scuttellaria integrifolia Scull cap Across N.C. Ground cover Table 7. Listing of shrubs and trees potentially used in rain gardens/bio-retention areas Costs Costs of rain gardens are affected by four primary factors: 1) the type of in-situ soil (sand or clay), 2) the topography (flat or hilly), 3) the types of vegetation selected, and 4) the required surface area. The first two factors can make rain garden construction much less expensive in the coastal plain and sandhills than in the piedmont and mountains (though some mountain soils, particularly in abandoned flood plains, tend to be quite sandy). The type of soil dictates the costs of excavating, hauling, installing pipes, and importing new soil and rocks. With sandy soils, most excavation and hauling costs are minimized; there are often no pipe and soil importation costs. However, if the rain garden site is located in an area where heavy equipment has passed several times (such as a townhouse construction site), it may be important to install underdrain pipes even in |