by johnah on October 28, 2020
Choosing Plants For River Banks – Tips For Planting Along River Banks
What To Plant On A Stream Bank?
In the past, many people planted trees along their river banks. They thought it was good idea because they believed that these trees would provide shade and other benefits to the area. However, there are some things which should not be done in order to maintain a healthy environment. These include:
Planting too many trees on the same spot; this may cause erosion and damage to the soil.
Plants growing up into the water. This will result in flooding of your property if it rains heavily or if there is heavy rainfalls.
If you want to keep your home dry, then you need to remove all trees from your river bank! Trees can’t survive in such conditions.
Plants growing so close to the edge of the stream that they block out sunlight. This will affect the health of the tree and its ability to produce fruit.
The most common reason why people don’t like having trees along their river banks is due to erosion problems. If you have a large number of trees, then they will eventually topple over and fall into the water causing damage to your property.
There are other reasons as well, but these are just some of them.
Instead of planting large numbers of trees along your river bank, you may opt for more grass. This can be helpful in stopping erosion.
It is also cheap and doesn’t require as much maintenance as the trees will.
In the first place, you need to check with your local authorities about their rules and regulations about your river bank. There are some places where this may not be possible at all.
For some, they may require you to build a retaining wall for the soil.
If you are planting trees, then there are some species which will do better than others and require less maintenance. For example, you can choose to plant both cottonwood and willow trees.
These types of trees are especially good because they have extensive root systems that help to prevent soil erosion. The trees also have flexible branches that will move back and forth with the force of the current. They don’t snap off like many other trees do.
There are several types of shrubs and flowers that you can also plant along the river bank. These include:
Yellow poppy
Primrose
Hawkbits
These types of plants will help to prevent erosion. They grow very well in soils with a high water content.
There are also several types of willows that you can plant along the river bank as well. As stated above, they have extensive root systems that help them to prevent soil erosion.
Some species of willow trees include:
Pussy willow
Silky willow
Pepperwood willow
Once again, you’ll want to check with your local authority before going out and planting a bunch of willows. They may not allow it for whatever reason.
This is a short list of some of the plants that you can plant along the river bank. The best way to learn is to do research and find out about other types as well.
It is definitely possible to have a nice yard alongside a river bank. It just takes some work and research in order to pick out the right plants for your soil type and conditions.
And remember, you’ll still have to do some maintenance in order to keep your plants alive and healthy.
Sources & references used in this article:
History of bioengineering techniques for erosion control in rivers in Western Europe by A Evette, S Labonne, F Rey, F Liebault… – Environmental …, 2009 – Springer
Successful invasion of a floral market by L Chittka, S Schürkens – Nature, 2001 – nature.com
On the origin of species, 1859 by C Darwin – 2016 – ewater.org.au
Alternative soilless media for growing Petunia× hybrida and Impatiens wallerana: Physical behavior, effect of fertilization and nitrate losses by W Chavez, A Di Benedetto, G Civeira, R Lavado – Bioresource Technology, 2008 – Elsevier
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