Jewelweed loves moisture and shade. Sarah

I would try the Georgia Native Plant Society to see what they offer. Many groups have lists of plants and/or sources for native plants. If they don't have what you are looking for, then they can probably tell you who does.

Jeanne

Here is a link that might be useful: Georgia Native Plant Society

Here are some plants native to Georgian riparian areas:

Trees:

Boxelder
Black Willow
River Birch

Shrubs:

Sweetspire (Itea virginica)
Winterhur Viburnum (V. nudum)
Sweetshrub (Calycanthus florida)
Doghobble (Leucothoe spp.)
Yellowroot (Xanthorhiza simplicissima)

Perennials:

Rivercane (Arundinaria gigantea)
Turtlehead (Chelone glabra)
Obedient Plant (Physostegia virginiana)
Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
Foam Flower (Tiarella spp.)
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
Ferns: Lady, New York, Netted Chain, Cinnamon, Royal, Sensitive and Christmas

Thanks for the suggestions! I did attend the GNPS sale this spring, and got some nice additions there. But I didn't know about the Jewelweed; what a neat plant! I'll have to find some seeds.

one thing that is great about riparian areas is that they tend to seed themselves. if the area has not had excessive disturbance like crop or lawn planting, and if you can keep erosion under control, keep invasives out, and selectively remove trees to open up the canopy - it might be interesting to wait and see what comes up on its own - after a couple of high water events and time and you could have a truly native restored ecosystem without much effort.

I have considered that. However, since this plot of land is surrounded by plots where non-natives run rampant, I was thinking that if I could get some natives established, they might keep the non-natives from popping up as quickly. Will this work?

I have a creek that runs near my house. I have found sweetbay magnolia and cyrilla growing with roots in the water. The creek dries up at times, but these plants do well even then. Both plants bloom and are natives.I've transplanted sweetbay many times and it does well. I trying to grow cyrilla now in a pot. It seems to be doing okay for now.

as far as establishing natives to prevent non-natives establishing thats probably a good idea. but its effectiveness depends upon so many factors...particularly in riparian areas which are so dynamic and depend upon disturbance to maintain their ecosystem... this disturbance is also what invites invasive species.

actually the jewelweed is an excellent suggestion - and the perennial list provided by Phlox99 is great also. i would stay away from planting trees along the banks of a creek, particularly if the area is already shady. trees can cause problems, if knocked over by a flood event or they can produce too much shade making it harder to get fibrous root plants to grow under them.

you didnt mention if the banks your creek are bare now that you removed the non-natives and is it in stable condition - its good to plant some annual rye in with your perrenials to get some quick ground cover while the perennials take their time to establish. or you could use something like a woven fiber blanket to hold soil also. the blankets act not only as erosion control but make a good mulch cover too. i can go on and on - but will stop for now.

if your slopes or bottom are not in stable condition, well thats another issue.

I just received some Jewelweed seeds I ordered! Does anyone know when I should plant them? Joepyeweed, the stream banks are fairly stable, although there are place where the water cuts into them when it floods. This is a small creek. I think it used to be more stable, but with all the development around here the creek receives a lot of runoff when it rains and I think the flood levels are higher now. The main thing growing along the banks before was English ivy. I have left patches of it still growing in places where I think the banks may be unstable. Some ferns already grow along the banks and I have added to these as well. Thanks for the suggestion about trees...I was wondering about planting them!

its hard to know about when to plant those seeds, normally one would say fall - the seeds would worked into the ground over the winter but with spring flooding along a creek it might be hard to get them to stay there without the blanket cover i mentioned previously. you could try spring after high water levels have dropped, however if your creek is downstream of alot of development you may not have one season when water levels are not fluctuating to the extremes. how much seed did you get? could you seperate it and try a couple different times to see which works best. if you have alot, I would probably spread some this fall, and then cold stratify some over the winter and and try to start seedlings indoor in january for planting in the spring.

Next to my creek I have ligularia (near the bottom, where it is pretty wet), which is tall and blooms a beautiful yellow in the summer. In spring there is brilliant marsh marigold (caltha palustris.) The cattails came in by themselves and I like them too. I also have some different types of grasses, one of them is tall and variegated, grows in a striking clump, unfortunately I don't know the name. I have water irises, ferns, and hostas. Looks terrific.

have you seen this web site yet...

Here is a link that might be useful: riparian management guide