Establishment and Maintenance of Roadside Plantings and Turf

The suitability and choice of different plant materials for roadside planting will be governed primarily by cost of establishment and maintenance, by the effectiveness in stabilizing the soil, and by safety and beauty achieved. It must be recognized that conditions often encountered in roadside planting situations are different from normal conditions found in fields and yards. Soils often consist of unclassified material and are not agricultural soils in the usual sense. The material usually contains very little if any humus and little plant food and often is highly susceptible to erosion. Under these extreme conditions the establishment and maintenance of plants and turf present major problems. In order to investigate the establishment and maintenance of woody and herbaceous plants and turf grasses for use as roadside plantings·, a series of experiments or studies have been undertaken in order to evaluate various plant materials, growth inducing materials, and techniques of planting and control of vegetation. The activities reported herein summarize the various studies which have been undertaken to date. Some of these experimentations have served their purpose and are considered to have been completed. Other activities which are summarized in this report are still under surveillance and additional information will be forthcoming as performance and condition surveys are made of the various test plots. Those experimentations which are still to be considered active and under surveillance are summarized in the following table. Those studies which are not included in the table, as mentioned above, have been terminated and no further significant information is expected to be obtained