Taylor Schultz (Native Scapes GA)

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 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