Dilemma

[Turkish]

One thing you can do to really help quail is to plant an improved and aggressive variety of partridge pea like they sell at Roundstone. It keeps finding a way to come back year after year - even when perennials start to take over the ground. It can also be easily brought back by light disking if it ever needs it.

I think most biologist who have experience with it would tell you that it is almost the perfect plant for quail because of:

1. Abundant tiny seed which quail relish as food.
2. Good cover - 5 or 6 feet tall for the improved varieties.
3. Excellent survivability for an annual plant.
4. A forb that doesn't get choked out in NWSGs as easily as some.

The quail biologists in the South recommend strongly against the Lark cultivar of partridge pea due to its aggressiveness. Not sure if that’s the variety you’re talking about.

 

[Native Hunter]

The quail biologists in the South recommend strongly against the Lark cultivar of partridge pea due to its aggressiveness. Not sure if that’s the variety you’re talking about.

I only know that I absolutely love what I have, and I absolutely love it because it is aggressive. It doesn't make sense to me to buy seed for a prairie plant that will disappear in a year or two. That's a waste of money in my opinion.

PS - My seed came from the place recommended by my biologist who happens to be very experienced in prairie restoration in my area.