you dont want the foxtails to go to seed. i think the standard answer is to mow before anything goes to seed. i have read to keep it under 6" for the first two years...

i didnt - i let mine grow because i have no patience and wanted to see stuff...of course i have tons of weeds now too... i hand pull alot of weeds as a penance for my past digressions.... at some point it becomes a matter of personal choice - there arent really any wrongs or rights either.

how many weeds do you have compared to what you planted? could you selectively remove the weeds that are starting to form seed heads, while still letting the other stuff grow?

if your foxtails are forming heads an you have a huge area or tons of them - i would mow now and then keep an eye on it - just like you are doing - when you see seed heads forming on weeds - you know its time to mow. you may have to mow again in a month.

This confuses me too...I was under the impressions, from books etc. that Big and Little Bluestem's did not like to be mowed below 6" too very often as they could be harmed...for that reason I have just been spot chopping any undesirables back with shears since I don't have enough lawn area to constitute a mower...my area is small (13x60) tho.
Is there any true to this? Please share.

Vera

if you have a small area - let it grow and spot weed.

but for a large field of several acres or more - spot weeding is not practicle. mowing for the first year or two has been kind of the standard recommendation for large areas. i do know people who use the mowing method (or weed wacker) for small yard plantings too - the mowing is primarily to keep the weeds from propagating. if not mowed in the first year of a new planting, weeds tend to grow twice as fast, go to seed two or three times in one season - while the bluestems are growing slower above ground but are laying down deep roots. then after the bluestems have developed that great root system (typically assumed to be after a minimum of one year and sometimes up to two years) - then its let to grow as tall as it wants and then weeds wont be able to compete.

I have visited the Schulenberg Prairie at the Morton Arboretum, one of the oldest prairie restorations in the country. It is remarkable how devoid of weeds it is and I assume they only do occasional prescribed burns. If you do the early work, be it mowing or hand pulling or both, it should pay off in the long run. I use hedge clippers for the larger areas and hand pull the most obvious weeds. Whenever I spot ANY purple loosestrife coming up in the wetter spots I pull them by hand. I hand pull wild carrot and white sweet clover too. My one small prairie experiment is about 2 years old and I had annual foxtails pretty bad the first year. The grasses and forbs are so robust that I don't see much of those foxtails this year. Certain weeds, like the wild carrot, sweet clover, yarrow, and canada (among others) are adapted to a disturbed prairie environment and need some longer term control. Learn to identify smooth brome grass too because I have seen that invade really good quality prairies.

Thanks for the advice. We'll start with the hand clippers before we try mowing.

In about three weeks we'll be in the Chicago area--the Morton Arboretum goes on the to do list.

If you are into plants, the Morton Arboretum is a great place. and if you are in the chicago area - you might want to check out prairies at the Fermi National Accelerator Labratory or the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie too. both have websites with information. you may need an appointment at Fermi but midewin is pretty much come and go as you would like.

Fermi will require an advance appointment and proper ID since its on an upgraded security standing. You'll need proper ID etc.... Also try Cantigny in Wheaton, quite close to Morton. Both Morton and Cantigny have extensive displays and information available. And Cantigny is the home of the First Inf. Division (Big Red One) museum. All are wonderful places to visit, except that Fermi has very little other then the prairie in the way of plants. Check out the web sites.

why would anyone want to see anything other than native prairie ;-)

actually fermi has something that you dont see in alot of other prairies: buffalo.

And there's the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie at the site of the old Joliet Arsenal, not too far from the Arboretum. I belive Midewin has buffalo, too!

i didnt know Midewin had buffalo too... i had been there and didnt see any - we werent looking in the right area, i guess.

About mowing"

Here's the rule I use to decide when and if to mow in the first year of a planting.

If you can stand in the planting area and look straight down and see any soil, there is generally no need to mow. Enough sunlight is getting to the seedling warm season grasses.

But if you can't see the soil, there's too much shading going on and it's time to mow off the tops (at 6-8 inches, if possible).

Rather than mowing our "field", we sythe. Yup. It's fun too. Sything has allowed us to be a bit more picky about what is to come down, tho' accidents do happen. You can also adjust the height of what is left behind. Builds muscles ;)
Patty