Seeding is not as instantaneous a landscaping process as rolling out sod, however. If sites are not properly prepared, they would need to be reseeded with the costly prairie mix, which ranges from about $500 to $1,000 per acre, the next year.

Prairie, long term, is very low maintenance. In the first three to five years though, the plant is spending its energy building its root structure. It can ‘t do that adequately if it ’s competing with a lot of weeds at the surface. ”

Once the prairie is established after the third year, the plants ’ deep root structure—the plants ’ way of dealing with the heat and drought of summer—locks up the soil to keep weeds out. From there on out, maintenance means one mowing in the fall and a prescribed burn every one or two springs.

Source: Wisconsin State Journal