Tallgrass - Tallgrass Restoration LLC

A close-up of green leaves and clusters of small, white flowers, likely Japanese knotweed, in a sunlit outdoor setting with tall grasses in the background.

Plant Profile: Japanese Knotweed (Reynoutria japonica)

August 1, 2026 Plant ProfileTallgrassWeeds

Direct Answer Japanese knotweed is a highly aggressive, invasive perennial plant characterized by its bamboo-like stems and an extensive underground root system. Effectively eradicating it requires permanently destroying the roots, which is most efficiently achieved through repeated chemical herbicide applications…

Teasel, Dipsacus sp dries 2nd year seed heads in winter.

Plant Profile: Teasel (Dipsacus sp.)

July 1, 2026 Plant ProfileTallgrassWeeds

Direct Answer Teasel is a highly invasive biennial herbaceous weed, easily identifiable by its spikey cylindrical flower head, that aggressively crowds out native species in both disturbed and natural areas. Teasel completes its lifecycle in two years, starting as a…

Monotypic stand of flowering yellow sweet clover Melilotus officinalis.

Plant Profile: Sweet Clover (Melilotus sp.)

June 1, 2026 Plant ProfileTallgrassWeeds

Direct Answer Sweet clover is an invasive biennial weed that damages native habitats, and the most effective way to control it is by mowing during its peak flowering stage before seeds can form. Alternative control methods like hand-pulling or careful…

Callery pear, pyrus calleryana close up of white stinky flowers in spring.

Plant Profile: Callery Pear (Pyrus calleryana)

May 15, 2026 Plant ProfileTallgrassWeeds

Direct Answer The Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) is a highly invasive ornamental tree that rapidly escapes planted areas to outcompete native vegetation across the Midwest and eastern United States. Controlling it requires halting new installations and removing existing trees using…

Plant Profile: Crown Vetch (Securigera varia)

May 5, 2025 Plant ProfileTallgrassWeeds

If you’re a gardener or a friend to bees, you may have been tempted to plant crown vetch in your flower beds. It grows quickly, it’s easy to take care of, and its flowers are pretty and prolific. Yet while…

Plant Profile: Reed Canary Grass (Phalaris arundinacea)

April 1, 2025 Plant ProfileTallgrassWeeds

Few invasive species cause more havoc in our wetlands than reed canary grass, or RCG for short. Nearly ubiquitous, this seemingly unremarkable grass has been taking over our streams, marshes, and meadows for decades, leaving little room for other plant…

Carpet of lesser celandine crowding out the native spring ephemerals.

Plant Profile: Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna)

March 17, 2025 Plant ProfileTallgrassWeeds

In the early spring, you may be walking along rivers and streams and notice a stunning display of yellow and green. While this carpet of flowers may be beautiful, it has a more sinister side, replacing all other spring wildflowers…

Bird’s-Eye View Of A Prescribed Burn In A Detention Basin

February 24, 2025 RestorationRx FireTallgrass

Prescribed Burn Of Detention Basin Have you ever wondered about the logistics of prescribed cburning? Tallgrass Restoration, LLC took several videos of a prescribed burn we completed in the fall of 2024 in Cook County, IL to illustrate how technical…

Effective Natural Area Management: Prescribed Burning

February 17, 2025 RestorationRx FireTallgrass

Is your natural area looking a bit ragged? Is it possibly not as full or colorful as it was a season or two ago? While there may be several reasons for an aesthetic change in your natural area, one remedy…

Plant Profile: Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)

July 27, 2023 Plant ProfileTallgrassWeeds

When we are working in a natural area, people will frequently ask our crews what we are doing, and why, and having a beautiful purple flower that was once sold at garden centers being removed or treated with herbicide will…

STRATEGIES FOR CREATING AND PRESERVING HEALTHY ECOSYSTEMS

June 14, 2023 RestorationTallgrass

Ecosystems can be microscopic or cover thousands of acres. Regardless of size, every ecosystem is constantly in flux. Preserving an ecosystem requires continuous efforts to fight the forces that create an imbalance. To put this into context, we can look…

2nd year garlic mustard bolted with white flowers.

Plant Profile: Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata)

May 17, 2023 Plant ProfileTallgrassWeeds

If you ever volunteered at your local forest preserve, you may find yourself in the woods pulling garlic mustard. Some organizations across the country even hold competitions to see who can pull the most. But what is it about garlic…

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