Ep. 07 | Taylor Schultz – Native Scapes

Taylor Schultz explains that native plants are species that have been in the Georgia Piedmont ecoregion since before colonization. The Georgia Piedmont is the area between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the coastal plains, characterized by red clay soil. There are thousands of native plant species in Georgia, and more come into cultivation each year. A plant native to one Georgia region, like the coast, may be invasive in the Piedmont.

“A native plant is a plant that has been in the area without being introduced since before colonization. So we're going back hundreds of years.”Taylor Schultz

Taylor Schultz describes the Georgia Piedmont as the ecoregion between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the sandy coastal plains. It covers much of the Atlanta area and is defined by its red clay soil, which contains minerals and sand. Ecoregions are different from hardiness zones, which measure temperature extremes. Understanding your ecoregion helps determine which plants will thrive without extra inputs.

“The Georgia Piedmont is this ecoregion between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the sandy coasts. Your ecoregion is the actual physical ecological region, the amount of sand and all of the minerals that are in it that make it red.”Taylor Schultz

Taylor Schultz says native plants are easier to care for than most ornamental plants and need less maintenance. They also provide food for native pollinators, including carpenter bees, bumble bees, and butterflies. Native plants support the entire food chain, from insects to bats that eat mosquitoes. They help create biodiverse, resilient ecosystems right in Atlanta backyards and require less water and fertilizer once established.

“Natives are not only easier to take care of than the majority of ornamental plants and need less maintenance. They also offer ecological benefits, food for our native pollinators. They feed all of the critters in the food cycle.”Taylor Schultz

Taylor Schultz explains that honeybees are not native to North America. They were introduced from Europe and Asia. Honeybees are generalists that compete with native bees like carpenter bees for nectar. Native plants support native pollinators, which are better adapted to local ecosystems and provide more specialized ecological benefits than honeybees alone.

“Honeybees aren't native. Honeybees are an introduced species. They're from Europe and Asia. Honeybees are generalists that compete with our native bees for nectar sources.”Taylor Schultz

Taylor Schultz recommends wild violets and frog fruit as lawn alternatives in Atlanta. Wild violets are tough, can be mowed, and form dense carpets with purple, blue, or white flowers in early spring. They provide early food for bees. Frog fruit is a stoloniferous plant with tiny clover-like flowers that can be mowed and spreads easily. Both require mowing only every three months once established and need less water and chemicals than traditional grass.

“Our native wild violet is a really, really cool plant. It is tough. You can run on it. You can mow it. You can light it on fire. It doesn't matter. It comes back and it will form these thick dense beautiful carpets that get adorable deep purple to periwinkle blue to white flowers in the early spring.”Taylor Schultz

Taylor Schultz advises cutting undesirable weeds to the soil level repeatedly throughout the season to prevent photosynthesis. If a plant cannot photosynthesize, it runs out of energy and cannot reproduce, eventually exhausting the weed seed bank in your yard. She suggests starting with small sections because the method is labor intensive. This approach works for most weeds except those with heavy rhizomatous root systems like wisteria.

“You can actually just cut it to the ground, to the soil, not to the grass level, to the soil and keep it from photosynthesizing and the root will run out of energy and the plant will not be able to procreate. If the plant can't procreate, you will inevitably exhaust that plant seed bank in your yard.”Taylor Schultz

Taylor Schultz recommends aeration and compost for organic lawn care in Atlanta, especially for grasses like zoysia or Bermuda. She references Jeff Lowenfels and his book Teaming with Microbes, which focuses on soil health. Weeds will always appear in monoculture lawns because disturbance wakes up the weed seed bank. UGA is working on a diverse fescue mix to reduce monoculture problems, which should help reduce patchiness and weed pressure.

“I honestly believe especially for something like zoysia or Bermuda the only thing you need to do to keep your lawn healthy is aeration and compost.”Taylor Schultz

Taylor Schultz recommends non-salt-based granular fertilizers like those from Down to Earth. Salt-based fertilizers bind nutrients in Georgia's clay soil, which already holds nutrients tightly due to its negative charge. She advises reading fertilizer ingredient labels and avoiding products with ammonium or nitrates. Look for ingredients like bone meal or kelp meal instead. This is especially important for fruit trees, which need a lot of fertilizer.

“I use a company called Down to Earth. They are a granular non-salt based fertilizer. The no salt is important because salt binds nutrients in the soil. Stay away from things that say like ammonium or nitrates.”Taylor Schultz

Taylor Schultz says in general, yes, you need two fruit trees for cross-pollination, including peaches, pears, and apples. However, some cultivars are self-fertile and can fertilize themselves, so it depends on how the tree was bred. She mentions that pomegranates are dioecious and can self-fertilize, and native serviceberry trees, which produce blueberry-like fruit, also take care of themselves.

“There's cross pollination there. So you do you need two. There are cultivars of peaches that I'm pretty sure are self-fertile. It would depend on the cultivar.”Taylor Schultz

Taylor Schultz says peach trees do fine in Atlanta as long as you choose a cultivar bred for Southern conditions. Fruit trees require a lot of fertilizer, so it is important to feed them regularly with non-salt-based products. Peach trees do not need winterizing in Atlanta and will survive the climate without extra protection.

“We have a few that are bred for these conditions here in the south. Fruit trees take a lot of fertilizer so it's important to feed them.”Taylor Schultz

Taylor Schultz was recently promoted to horticulturist for the Rose Garden at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. She is working on a full organic plan for the Rose Garden and hopes to present her results at conferences if successful. She previously worked in the horticulture exhibits department, which includes the goddess and Alice in Wonderland displays. She got the job after playing Taxonomy Tango, a weekly plant identification game for staff.

“I've recently been promoted to the horticulturist for the Rose Garden and I'm working on a full organic plan in our Rose Garden and if I can approve my results I will attempt to take it to different conferences.”Taylor Schultz

Taylor Schultz says the Atlanta Botanical Garden will have a five-acre expansion on the Beltline around 2028. The new land is a triangle near the U-Haul on Piedmont towards Monroe, across from Ansley Mall. The garden is raising funds for the purchase. The expansion will feature different types of gardens and more sculptural elements than the current garden, along with new greenhouses.

“Around 2028 we will have a five acre expansion on the Beltline. That little triangle of land now belongs to the Atlanta Botanical Garden. It's gonna be different from what's already there.”Taylor Schultz