potentially useful species that may be used to supplement erosion control 

 plantings are listed below: 



(1) Black needle rush (Junaue voemevianus) . 



(2) Common reed (Phragmites aorrmunis) . 



(3) Cordgrasses: Big cordgrass (Spartina aynosuvoides); gulf 

 cordgrass (Spartina spavtinae) ; saltmeadow cordgrass {Spavtina 



patens) . 



(4) Mangroves: Red (Rhizophova mangle); black (Aviaennia 

 gevminans); white (Lagunautaria vaaemosa) . 



(5) Saltgrass {Distishtis spiaata) . 



(6) Seaside arrowgrass {Trigtoahin maritima) . 



(7) Siltgrass (Paspalum vaginatum) . 



The need to plant these species should be evaluated for each individual 

 site. Planting specifications and guidelines for the use of these other 

 useful species are given in Section VI. 



2. Selecting Plant Materials . 



Choosing the type of planting materials and determining a source of 

 suitable planting stock should be done early in the planning process. The 

 cost of planting stock usually represents a substantial part of the total 

 expense and this cost can vary over a wide range. Locating a suitable source 

 of plants may be the most difficult problem to be solved. The practice of 

 salt marsh planting is still in the embryonic stage in this country. Both the 

 development and the demonstration of planting techniques are very recent. 

 Although a substantial number of successful field-scale plantings have been 

 made, this has not yet become a standard practice. Therefore, the demand for 

 planting stock is still small, erratic, and unpredictable. Consequently, such 

 materials are not generally available commercially; there are a few nurseries 

 that produce plant materials on order. 



Marsh plants are propagated either by seeds or by some type of vegetative 

 transplant. Since direct seeding is effective only under fairly sheltered 

 conditions the planting of eroding shorelines must be confined to the 

 following vegetative transplants: (a) sprigs, which are bare root plants dug 

 from field nurseries or from the wild (Fig. 17); (b) pot-grown seedlings; or 

 (c) plugs, which are root-soil masses containing several intact plants dug 

 from the wild. There is no one best type of planting stock. The quality of 

 the material is often the key to success. High-quality material in any form 

 can be very successful. High quality in this context means young, vigorous, 

 actively growing vegetation that is large enough to carry appreciable stored 

 food reserves. Early initiation of new growth is essential if transplants are 

 to establish under the rigorous conditions existing on most eroding shore- 

 lines. This new growth cannot be expected of old or stunted plants, regard- 

 less of transplant form. Choice of plant material type may in a few cases be 



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