Featured Seed

Prairie Dock – A Tall, Resilient Pollinator for CRP

Silphium terebinthinaceum, more commonly known as prairie dock, is a flowering plant that can be found in most of Illinois, along with select areas of Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, and Wisconsin. Some refer to it as prairie rosinweed, a name derived from the sweet-smelling resin it produces when cut. When fully grown, prairie dock can reach heights of 10 feet. Small, yellow flowers bloom at the tips of its stems, while […]

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Adding Compass Plant to Your CRP Mix

Silphium lacinatum is known by a number of names: pilotweed, gum weed, turpentine plant, and more. Its most popular name, however, is compass plant. Compass plant is a flowering plant native to eastern and central US and can often be found alongside big bluestem.   Like most plants in the Silphium genus, compass plant flowers have vibrant yellow petals that spread out from its center like sunrays.

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Cup Plant – A Vibrant Addition for Pollinator Habitat

Needing a little yellow in your CRP seed mix? Then cup plant is a great choice. Officially known as Silphium perfoliatum, cup plant comes from the same family as daisies. While daisies are known for their white petals and yellow center, cup plant’s entire flowerhead is a vibrant yellow. Cup plant also grows much taller than daisies, reaching

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Big Bluestem – A Tall, Thick Bunchgrass That’s Great for CRP

With its distinct spikelet tips that split from its stem like little turkey feet, Andropogon gerardi is the most prominent plant of America’s tallgrass plains. Of course, most people know it as big bluestem. Not to be confused with little bluestem, which we discussed last week, big bluestem is an entirely separate type of warm season bunchgrass.  As you might

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Adding Little Bluestem to Your CRP Seed Mix

Looking for a durable native warm season grass to plant in your CRP establishment? Schizachyrium scoparium, better known as little bluestem, is definitely worth consideration. This perennial bunchgrass can be found in almost every state and is especially prominent across the prairies of the Midwest.  In fact, it’s the official state grass of Nebraska and Kansas.   Little bluestem grows best in the full

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What Illinois Bundleflower Brings to CRP Seed Mixes

Need a good food source for wildlife to implement into your CRP seed mix? Illinois bundleflower is a great choice for contract holders across the Midwest and south-central states. Also known as prickleweed and prairie mimosa, this warm season perennial legume has good drought tolerance and can grow in most soils.  When fully grown, Illinois bundleflower can stand anywhere from 1-4 feet tall. Leaves grow in

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Black-Eyed Susan – A Great Addition to Pollinator Seed Mixes

Black-eyed Susan is a popular North American flower known for its bright yellow pedals and a dark, dome-shaped center from which its name is derived. The official name for black-eyed Susan is Rudbeckia hirta (though other flowers in the rudbeckia family are sometimes colloquially referred to as black-eyed Susan)      In addition to being the state flower of Maryland, black-eyed Susan served as

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Switchgrass – A Great Addition for Your CRP Seed Mix

Once upon a time, the Midwest was covered in a variety of thick, native grasses. These grasses protected and enriched soil while providing habitat for local wildlife. Today, those native grasses are used for the same purposes through programs such as CRP.   One of the most prevalent types of native grass then and now is panicum

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Milkweed – Great for Pollinators, Essential for Monarch Butterflies

Named for the toxic milky substance that leaks out when damaged, milkweed is a perennial flowering plant with a lot to offer. Its fibers (known as floss) have been used for insulation, pillow stuffing, string, rope, and more. Meanwhile, its flowers provide a great source of nectar for a variety of pollinators.  But its most crucial role is serving as the birthing ground for monarch butterflies.  The monarch butterfly exclusively

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