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Core + Expanded Diversity: representative late-summer view. Expanded is a separate add-on.
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Core + Expanded Diversity: representative fall view. Expanded is a separate add-on.
Images are representative of seasonal appearance. Actual results vary with site conditions, establishment and management.
Expanded Diversity Add-On — Native Prairie Seed Mix
Expanded Diversity Add-On — Native Prairie Seed Mix
Add 21 distinct species for more prairie texture, flower forms and seasonal variety. Prairie Dropseed brings fine grassy texture, Lead Plant adds a slower-developing prairie shrub, and Nodding Onion and Rough Blazing Star add distinctive flowers. This optional supplement works with either prairie foundation.
Best for sunny, mesic to dry-mesic sites, with variable plant heights. Sow it with the foundation or interseed into suitable prepared openings later. Expanded is additional seed only; a bare site still needs a foundation mix. Create seed-to-soil contact, manage competition and allow slower species time to develop.
Adding these species at the initial sowing gives slow-developing plants such as Prairie Dropseed and Lead Plant an early opportunity while the ground is prepared. You can also use Expanded to augment an existing prairie: choose suitable openings, reduce competing vegetation and create seed-to-soil contact. It adds diversity to a foundation; it does not replace the foundation seed rate or the management needed for establishment.
A supplemental diversity component for a compatible prairie planting; this package contains only the species listed for this component.
Seed Mix Specifications
Seed Mix Specifications
Your selected mix:
Combined specification per acre*:
Total PLS seed for your selected coverage and package quantity:
The table below updates with your selected seed components. Coverage and package quantity determine the total PLS seed shown above; row rates remain per acre. The linked component reference also includes its published PLS weight percentages.
Species rows show the selected components only. Values are rounded supplier figures per acre; combined headline totals may differ slightly from summed rows. PLS is viable seed content, not gross bag weight.
Seed + Warrior Project Planner
Seed + Warrior Project Planner
Build the foundation. Enrich the places that need more.
Seed provides broad coverage and a diverse starting community. The foundation mixes combine grasses and wildflowers with different growth rates and seasonal roles; the optional add-ons bring more species, flower forms and habitat value as the planting develops.
Targeted Warrior plugs help add spring color and early-season resources in selected patches. Some early-blooming prairie plants can be difficult or costly to supply and establish from seed. Planting them as plugs lets you place these special species where their moisture and drainage needs fit, alongside the seeded foundation.
Wild Hyacinth suits moist, well-drained pockets with reliable spring moisture. Midland Shooting Star brings spring pollen for buzz-pollinating bees in draining prairie ground. Prairie Violet adds a low spring-flowering layer in mesic to slightly dry areas, while Cream Wild Indigo suits sunny, well-drained ground. Reserve Bird’s-foot Violet for exceptionally well-drained sandy or gravelly spots.
Use the 3,000-plug recommendation per acre of the selected treatment areas, not across every acre of your property. These plantings add seasonal and structural variety; they still need suitable soil, watering during establishment when needed, weed control and follow-up care. Plugs are planned and ordered separately from the seed mix.
Choose a seed mix on its product page to use its saved recommendations.
Edit these two numbers, then calculate.
Open a seed mix to start with its product and coverage selection.
Recommendation alignment is an editorial planning guide, not a success probability or a scientific seed-to-plug equivalence.
Plant roles, quantities & planning details
A suitable foundation seed mix provides broad coverage on prepared ground. In an existing planting, additional seed and targeted plugs can enrich suitable gaps. Place Warrior plugs intentionally in suitable microsites; the per-acre density applies only to the targeted treatment area, not an instruction to space plants evenly across the site.
Below 50% seed stays red; 50% to below 100% stays yellow. Extra diversity or plugs never offsets underseeding. For the full-diversity benchmark, a full-rate foundation starts light green, foundation + Expanded reaches its upper end, and a foundation with both add-ons starts the dark-green optimal zone. Maximum can be chosen with or without Expanded. The benchmark does not mean that every component is required for every site, and it does not assess existing vegetation. Verified, appropriate Warrior density raises alignment smoothly within the applicable diversity band. Extra seed above 100% adds no rating credit.
Flywheel Ecology: site investigation through ongoing monitoring
Read the current mix specification
Detailed seed quantities & custom-quote calculator
View the complete specification for Expanded Diversity Add-On — Native Prairie Seed Mix
Pure Live Seed
Pure Live Seed
Seed is provided in Pure Live Seed (PLS) unless otherwise stated.
Pure Live Seed (PLS) expresses the viable seed content of a seed lot using its purity and germination or viability test results. It helps you compare seed lots and calculate how much bulk seed is needed to meet a specified PLS planting rate.
PLS weight and bag weight
PLS weight is not the same as the total weight of seed in a bag. For example, a lot with 80% purity and 75% viability contains 60% PLS: 80 × 75 ÷ 100 = 60. Supplying 10 lb PLS from that lot requires about 16.67 lb of bulk seed.
Use the current seed test and the stated basis of the mix specification. Germination calculations may include applicable hard or dormant seed. Seed-count estimates also require the number of seeds per pound; PLS alone does not provide a seed count.
What to check when buying a mix
Check whether each rate is stated in PLS pounds, bulk pounds, or a combination. A mix with both bases should not be described as having an all-PLS total.
PLS does not remove weed seeds or guarantee establishment. Review the seed label and analysis for weed content, and match site preparation, planting conditions and follow-up management to your project.
Sources: USDA NRCS, Understanding Pure Live Seed and The Importance of Seed Quality for Natural Resource Conservation.
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.
| Package size | Planting area (sq ft) | PLS equivalent (lb) |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 sq ft | 1,000 | 0.0310 |
| 1/4 Acre | 10,890 | 0.3380 |
| 0.5 Acre | 21,780 | 0.6760 |
| 1.0 Acre | 43,560 | 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.
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
| 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.
Shipping & Care
Shipping & Care
Shipping charges are calculated at checkout. Seed ships all year and typically ships within a week of an order being placed.
Review the native seed installation, establishment and maintenance guidance below.
- Ecosystem restoration considerations
- Native seed establishment best management practices
- Native seed stratification guidance
For project-specific help, book an approximately one-hour, virtual, audio-only Introductory Stewardship Consultation. The $25 reservation fee returns as $25 Natural Communities store credit after payment is confirmed.
Solving a Site Problem? Get Expert Advice + Get Store Credit
Whether you're fighting severe erosion, replacing invasive species, designing a pollinator haven, or seeding large acreage, choosing the wrong species wastes time and money. Talk 1-on-1 with a restoration ecologist to map out the exact species, plug counts, or seed mixes for your soil and goals. Book a consultation and get all or a portion credited directly back to your order.