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Coastal Center

Plant Propagation Program

Since the Texas Institute for Coastal Prairie Research and Education was established at the University of Houston Coastal Center in 2017, its on-the-ground restoration mission has focused on the removal of invasive species to expand restored acreage and improve management. University of Houston Coastal Center’s external restoration activities have focused on providing a local source of ecotype-appropriate native seed to other entities restoring coastal prairie.

Under a Memorandum of Understanding with the Texas Nature Conservancy, the TNC harvested over 1,500 pounds of seed from University of Houston Coastal Center’s central Aumann Prairie in Fall 2023 under a seed-sharing arrangement. Part of the seed has already been planted to restore portions of the Texas City Prairie Preserve.

  • Texas Nature Conservancy towing seed harvester through ripened seed of Aumann Prairie.

  • Interior of seed harvester with seed-bearing stalks of liatris and other species.

  • Scooping out harvested stalks into collection bags for transport to processing.

  • Harvested seed crop before being processed.

  • Fan drying of the seed crop at the Texas Nature Conservancy’s Texas City Prairie Preserve.

  • Harvest being fed into a mulcher by Aaron Tjelmeland of the TNC.

  • Finished seed harvest after processing and ready for bagging.

  • Bagged University of Houston Coastal Center harvest in 45-degree F refrigerated storage at TNC facility.

Large Planned Greenhouse

With initial support from Green Mountain Energy Sun Club, the University of Houston Coastal Center will purchase and construct a 30 x 48-foot greenhouse that will enable University of Houston Coastal Center to better restore degraded prairie areas on site and improve restoration outreach through research and seed grow-out. While the majority of the grant from Green Mountain Energy Sun Club is specifically for construction of the major greenhouse, a portion of the grant is dedicated to plant propagation operations. Read more about Green Mountain Energy Sun Club.

Germination and Seedlings Program - The Germination Greenhouse

In January 2024, University of Houston Coastal Center initiated in-house plant propagation of coastal prairie species on a smaller scale by constructing a 6 x 10-foot greenhouse suitable for seed germination and seedlings.

Financial support from Green Mountain Energy Sun Club allowed the initiation of the in-house plant propagation program in the new germination greenhouse. This first, small greenhouse is a bridge that allows University of Houston Coastal Center to expand its restoration outreach while arrangements are completed to construct the larger 30 x 48-foot facility.

With the assistance of the Texas Master Naturalists as the primary labor crew, volunteers assembled the polycarbonate-paneled greenhouse with aluminum framing from a boxed greenhouse kit. The greenhouse is screwed into 4 x 6 treated lumber that is anchored to the ground with 18-inch rebar.

Final steps included construction of custom-fit tables—built by volunteers—and installation of irrigation piping and a solar-powered irrigation controller.

Thanks to an all-volunteer effort, University of Houston Coastal Center’s little germination greenhouse is already filled to bursting with seedlings and flats of germinating seeds.

  • Rectangular wooden frame base of the greenhouse filled with sand.

  • Two men positioning a slanted panel while another person in the background reads instructions.

  • Nearly assembled greenhouse with transparent panels, as multiple individuals work together to secure it.

  • Greenhouse with transparent panels, as multiple individuals work together to secure it.

  • A man tightening a bolt on the greenhouse frame.

  • Another man tightening a bolt on the greenhouse frame.

  • Three people working on assembling the greenhouse.

  • The whole Germination Greenhouse team.

  • Chris Anastas “potting up” Asclepias viridis (green milkweed) seedlings into larger pots.

  • Inside of greenhouse.

  • A viridis growing about 3 to 4 inches tall.

  • Sideoats grama seedlings in a germination.

  • The completed greenhouse with plants.

What is Currently Growing?

Initial emphasis is on germinating and growing species of native forbs and grasses from seed collected from the UH Coastal Center’s prairie units. The plants have found homes at site installations of the Houston Monarch Story to enhance habitat for the iconic monarch butterfly and other pollinators at the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center and on Buffalo Bayou. Many of the plants have been used to restore and enhance areas at UHCC.

Species include forbs like clustered bushmint (Hypta alata), saltmarsh mallow (Kosteletzkya pentacarpos), false aloe (Manfreda virginica), Texas coneflower (Rudbeckia texana) and grasses like Gulf Coast muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris), Florida paspalum (Paspalum floridanum) and longspike tridens (Tridens strictus).