Question: What kind of soil preparation do I need to make for my wildflower plantings?

Answer: Believe it or not, they will benefit from a little extra help. That doesn’t mean that you have to add 4 inches of organic matter like you might do for pansies and petunias, but you should at least kill the existing turfgrass and rototill or cultivate the soil lightly. Give them their own dedicated planting sites. Do not plant them into existing turf – they do not compete well. They need the entire spring to grow, bloom and set seed, and, by that time, the turf will completely choke them out. Think about where you see the best wildflowers in Texas – it’s never where there is abundant bermudagrass. Usually they’re in the forsaken, eroded soils on slopes and in draws.