[APWG] Using the locally adapted native species, produces the best successes

[Craig Dremann - Redwood City Seed Company]

Dear Wayne and All,

Thanks for your email.

You wrote:  As you know, site conditions are the primary determinant of the
type of vegetative cover, and coarse soils are not as good a site type as
the finer/heavier soils for establishing good grassland associations
successfully, especially as "understory" for shrubs.

After working in the Great Basin on no soil, just rocky volcanic ash where
even cheatgrass has a hard time getting established, you can see the test
plots, where the proper local ecotype of bluebunch wheatgrass, that was
genetically adapted to those poor, arid soil conditions, produced a
beautiful solid weed-free prairie when planted.

At http://www.ecoseeds.com/greatbasin.html

By using the locally adapted native species, and planting them back where
they belong, like a "paint-by-numbers" plan, has produced 100% successes
for me, since the mid-1990s.

This plan of using locally adapted material, and planting it back where it
belongs, is especially important  when you are trying to convert
weed-infested areas, back to native understories.

Sincerely,  Craig Dremann (650) 325-7333