Expanded Diversity Add-On — Native Prairie Seed Mix

Add 21 species to a sunny prairie planting. Expanded adds a finer grass-and-sedge layer, more flower forms and slower-developing plants such as Prairie Dropseed and Lead Plant. Plan for mesic to dry-mesic conditions and variable height. Use with a foundation mix or for carefully planned interseeding. Images are representative of seasonal appearance. Actual results vary with site conditions, establishment and management. This listing contains only the 21-species Expanded Diversity Add-On. It is shared by the Mixed-Height and Shorter-Grass families at the same per-acre rates and can be bought initially or later for interseeding. It is a supplement rather than a complete foundation for a bare site. Mixed-Height Native Prairie Seed Mix · Maximum Diversity Add-On Site conditions Light and setting: Plan for an open, sunny prairie site. Evaluate shade, drainage and existing vegetation before choosing the mix. Soil moisture: The recipe brings together plants with different moisture preferences. Match the overall plan to mesic or dry-mesic prairie conditions, and assess wetter or very dry areas separately. Some ingredients favor moister pockets; others favor lean, well-drained ground. Height: A variable canopy with lower layers and taller accents. Neither the Mixed-Height foundation nor the shared add-ons has a fixed height ceiling. Coverage sizes and 1,000 sq ft specifications Choose a 1,000-sq-ft packet, a 1/4-acre package, or one complete package from 0.5 to 5.0 acres in 0.1-acre steps. For example, choose 0.7 acre for a 30,492-sq-ft planting. Match coverage areas when combining components. One acre equals 43,560 sq ft; 1,000 sq ft is approximately 0.02296 acre. The table below shows reference quantities for this component. Request a quote for a larger project. The recipe is scaled by planting area. The 1,000-sq-ft packet covers an area such as 20 by 50 feet at the published rate. The reference sizes below show the PLS quantity for this component only; adding diversity components adds their separate seed quantities. Coverage and calculated PLS allocation Package size Planting area (sq ft) PLS equivalent (lb) Package size1,000 sq ft Planting area (sq ft)1,000 PLS equivalent (lb)0.0310 Package size1/4 Acre Planting area (sq ft)10,890 PLS equivalent (lb)0.3380 Package size0.5 Acre Planting area (sq ft)21,780 PLS equivalent (lb)0.6760 Package size1.0 Acre Planting area (sq ft)43,560 PLS equivalent (lb)1.3520 PLS expresses viable seed content, not gross bag or shipping weight. Actual bulk weight depends on lot purity and germination. Seed counts and PLS weights do not predict mature plant cover. Rounded rows may not add precisely to the stated component total. Blend ingredients 21 species; 1.352 PLS lb/acre; 21.83 seeds/sq ft. Quoted proportions are by PLS weight, not mature cover. View Mix Specifications Fine-textured grasses and a spring-active sedge layer June Grass forms fine-leaved tufts with slender, early seedheads. This cool-season grass starts growing in spring and flowers before many warm-season prairie grasses. Prairie Dropseed forms rounded mounds of arching, fine-textured leaves. This warm-season grass adds airy summer seedheads above the foliage. Bicknell's Sedge, Plains Oval Sedge and Troublesome Sedge add a spring-active ground layer, leafy tufts and distinctive seedheads. Sedge seeds provide food for birds, and sedges in the Carex group also support caterpillars. References: June Grass · Prairie Dropseed · Bicknell's Sedge · Plains Oval Sedge · Troublesome Sedge and Carex wildlife associations. Flower standouts in Expanded Lead Plant brings silvery-gray, finely divided foliage and purple flower spikes with bright yellow anthers. A characteristic plant of high-quality prairie, it offers flowers for native bees and develops slowly into a small, woody shrub. White Wild Indigo adds upright white flower spires in early summer, pollinated by bumblebees, and seedpods that ripen to black. Give this perennial time to establish its bold, shrub-like form. Rough Blazing Star adds rounded, fluffy purple flowerheads in late summer, with nectar for adult monarchs and other butterflies. Prairie Blazing Star brings dense purple flower spikes and a strong vertical accent, offering another nectar source for adult monarchs. Wild Quinine brings long-lasting, pearly-white summer flowers and a fascinating history: it was historically used in attempts to treat fevers and malaria. Compass Plant pairs deeply lobed basal leaves with tall, sunflower-like yellow blooms. In full sun, upright leaves tend to align their edges north–south, with their broad faces east–west, giving the plant its name. Goldfinches feed on its seeds. Smooth Blue Aster adds striking blue-violet flowers from late summer into early fall, with nectar and pollen for bees and butterflies. References: Lead Plant form and flowers · Lead Plant habitat and native bees · White Wild Indigo · blazing stars and monarch nectar · Wild Quinine · 1881 historical account · Compass Plant · Smooth Blue Aster. Why these species belong in the planting Each species contributes a different combination of growth form, season or habitat value. The notes below describe established plants on suitable sites; they do not guarantee germination, abundance or wildlife visits. Expanded Diversity Add-On: every species and its contribution+ June Grass (Koeleria macrantha): Adds a fine-textured, spring-growing bunchgrass with early seedheads, complementing the later growth of Core's warm-season prairie grasses. Species reference Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis): Builds fine-leaved, rounded clumps with airy summer seedheads, bronze fall foliage and seed for birds as this slower-developing prairie grass matures. Species reference Bicknell's Sedge (Carex bicknellii): Adds a spring-active sedge layer with slender foliage and early seedheads, bringing a characteristic of higher-quality prairie into suitable sunny, mesic-to-dry ground. Species reference Plains Oval Sedge (Carex brevior): Adds spring-growing leafy tufts and textured seedheads, extending the sedge component across suitable moist-to-moderately-dry patches within the planting. Species reference Troublesome Sedge (Carex molesta): Contributes slender-leaved tufts and late-spring seedhead texture in the moister parts of the site, broadening the planting's ground-layer structure. Species reference Nodding Onion (Allium cernuum): Adds a lower layer of nodding pink-to-white summer flowers that offer nectar and pollen to bees among the taller prairie plants. Species reference Lead Plant (Amorpha canescens): Brings silver-gray foliage, deep-rooted shrubby structure and summer flowers for bees, including a specialist visitor, with patience needed as young plants develop. Species reference White Wild Indigo (Baptisia alba): Adds bold, shrub-like form, early-summer white flower spikes pollinated by bumblebees, and distinctive dark seedpods for another layer of prairie structure. Species reference Pale Indian Plantain (Cacalia atriplicifolia): Adds broad, pale-backed leaves and tall, airy clusters of summer flowers visited by small bees, flies and wasps, enriching the mix's leafy architecture. Species reference White Prairie Clover (Dalea candida): Usually begins flowering ahead of Core's Purple Prairie Clover, adding earlier white flower spikes and nectar and pollen for a varied group of insects. Species reference Illinois Bundleflower (Desmanthus illinoensis): Adds fern-like foliage, rounded summer flowerheads and clustered pods, with seeds eaten by birds and a perennial legume's contribution to the planting. Species reference Illinois Tick Trefoil (Desmodium illinoense): Adds a prairie-associated legume with midsummer pollen for bees and a more scattered growth pattern than Core's colony-forming Showy Tick Trefoil. Species reference Rough Blazing Star (Liatris aspera): Adds purple late-summer-to-early-fall flowers for butterflies and long-tongued bees, especially in well-drained, mesic-to-dry parts of the prairie. Species reference Prairie Blazing Star (Liatris pycnostachya): Adds dense purple flower spikes for butterflies, skippers and bees in late summer, complementing Rough Blazing Star in suitable moister prairie ground. Species reference Wild Quinine (Parthenium integrifolium): Adds sturdy clusters of small white flowers from late spring into summer, offering nectar and pollen to bees, wasps, flies and beetles. Species reference Virginia Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum): Adds branching, mint-scented foliage and small summer flowers that offer nectar to many bees, wasps, flies and small butterflies in mesic-to-moist areas. Species reference Rosinweed (Silphium integrifolium): Adds upright, yellow-flowered summer structure, nectar and pollen for bees, and seeds occasionally eaten by goldfinches in sunny mesic-to-dry prairie. Species reference Compass Plant (Silphium laciniatum): Adds a tall, deep-rooted prairie perennial with large lobed leaves and summer flowers for bees, developing its impressive structure over several years. Species reference Smooth Blue Aster (Symphyotrichum laeve): Adds blue-violet flowers in late summer and early fall, reinforcing late-season nectar and pollen alongside Core's New England Aster and goldenrod. Species reference Ohio Spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis): Adds blue-violet flowers from late spring into summer, giving pollen-collecting bees another food source before many later prairie flowers reach their peak. Species reference Culver's Root (Veronicastrum virginicum): Adds elegant white summer flower spires above whorled foliage, with nectar and pollen for bees in the planting's average-to-moist soil areas. Species reference Informed by established ecological restoration practice Research supports starting with a diverse, site-appropriate native seed mix to help build lasting diversity. You can also enrich an existing planting over time with diversity add-ons and targeted management. Research on starting diversity: Larson et al. (2017) · Barak et al. (2023). Prairie building rewards patience. Expanded adds Rosinweed, Prairie Dropseed and other species that can bring richer composition as a planting matures. Give slower-developing plants time to establish, and monitor how they respond to your site's conditions and management. Make your restoration budget go further Approved Stewardship Circle participants receive 25% off retail native plants and seed. Conservation professionals, volunteers, and members or supporters of qualifying conservation organizations can apply. There is no program membership fee. Already supporting a land trust or conservation organization? Your involvement may qualify you. If you are considering joining an organization, check eligibility and submit proof with your application. This connects support for conservation with savings on your own planting. Approval is required; organization membership does not automatically activate the discount. Apply for the Stewardship Circle Planting and establishment Prepare suitable seed-to-soil contact and address competing vegetation before sowing. Review our native seed establishment guide and stratification guidance. For established plantings, assess openings and competition before adding seed; broadcasting alone does not assure establishment. Restoration changes with the seasons, and questions come with it. Book an Introductory Stewardship Consultation for practical guidance on site preparation, installation, species selection and maintenance during years 1–3. You’ll receive written notes and a summary of the discussion to refer back to. Sessions are approximately one hour, virtual and audio-only. The $25 booking fee returns as $25 Natural Communities store credit after payment is confirmed, which you can use toward native plants and seed. Explore our planning tools as you prepare. When new challenges arise, you can return for additional consultation; each additional session is booked separately for $25. Ordering details Shipping charges are calculated at checkout. Seed ships all year and typically ships within a week of an order being placed. The add-ons are additional seed only and are shared across the two prairie families. Availability changes with the crop and season. Species substitutions are reviewed at order time. Regional native suitability does not establish local seed origin: verify lot provenance if your project requires it. For a truly Short Prairie blend, ask about the separate custom option with a minimum half-acre order. Mix specifications Expanded Diversity Add-On: 21 quoted species Common name Scientific name PLS weight % Seeds/ft² PLS lb/acre June Grass Koeleria macrantha 7.397% 7.35 0.100 Prairie Dropseed Sporobolus heterolepis 11.096% 0.88 0.150 Bicknell's Sedge Carex bicknellii 2.959% 0.25 0.040 Plains Oval Sedge Carex brevior 7.397% 1.07 0.100 Troublesome Sedge Carex molesta 3.699% 0.46 0.050 Nodding Onion Allium cernuum 4.438% 0.17 0.060 Lead Plant Amorpha canescens 5.918% 0.47 0.080 White Wild Indigo Baptisia alba 4.438% 0.04 0.060 Pale Indian Plantain Cacalia atriplicifolia 2.219% 0.07 0.030 White Prairie Clover Dalea candida 14.794% 1.40 0.200 Illinois Bundleflower Desmanthus illinoensis 9.246% 0.19 0.125 Illinois Tick Trefoil Desmodium illinoense 5.918% 0.13 0.080 Rough Blazing Star Liatris aspera 0.925% 0.07 0.013 Prairie Blazing Star Liatris pycnostachya 5.380% 0.29 0.073 Wild Quinine Parthenium integrifolium 2.342% 0.08 0.032 Virginia Mountain Mint Pycnanthemum virginianum 0.740% 0.81 0.010 Rosinweed Silphium integrifolium 1.479% 0.01 0.020 Compass Plant Silphium laciniatum 1.849% 0.01 0.025 Smooth Blue Aster Symphyotrichum laeve 2.219% 0.61 0.030 Ohio Spiderwort Tradescantia ohiensis 3.699% 0.15 0.050 Culver's Root Veronicastrum virginicum 1.849% 7.35 0.025 Rates shown are unchanged from the verified recipe.