Where to Buy Native Plants: Send me Your Tips!

Image from pixabay.com

I'm creating a clearinghouse document here of places where my readers and I have successfully purchased native plants for our native garden projects. Please send me the names, locations and a short description of the places you have bought native plants. Use the comment section. I'll add them to the text.  I'll sort by state, and by country. Thank you! Here's my list for now:

When I lived in Arlington, Virginia, I got most of my native plants from one nursery, two non-profit nurseries, and a biannual plant sale.  I also got some of my plants from neighbors who gave me cuttings, seeds or root clumps from splittings.

If you don't live in the National Capitol Area, use the resource links at the right to research other reliable providers of native plants as well as information on which plants your local butterflies and other pollinators need for food. Yes, right over there =>

USA By State

Maryland

Environmental Concern Inc.St. Michaels, MD
Environmental Concern holds native plant sales in May and in September. You can purchase from there nursery throughout the year, but check their website and make an appointment.

Virginia

The Virginia Native Plant Society keeps an updated list of native plant nurseries across Virginia.

Nature by Design
Alexandria, VA
Check their website for hours and current plant list. They will also help design and install native plant gardens.

Earth Sangha Wild Plant Nursery
Springfield, VA
Check their website to make an appointment to buy plants, view the plant list or to volunteer in the nursery.
Every year, the nursery hosts three "Open House & Plant Sale" events, one in the spring, summer, and fall.


Northern Alexandria Native Plant Sale
Formerly Parkfairfax Native Plant Sale
Alexandria, VA
This native plant sale is held twice a year, on the last Saturday in April and on the last Saturday in September. Check their Facebook page for dates, location and vendors.

Considerations when purchasing native plants

Sources of the plants: Ask the nurseries where they get their plants, or the seeds and cuttings they use to grow the plants they sell. Make sure they have an ethical source that is able to provide reliable native plant species. Also try to be sure that the native plants are not being sourced from wild foraging.

Heirloom vs Cultivar: A plant may sound like the native plant you are shopping for, but if it is a cultivar, having been bred for generations to achieve a particular color or bloom size, the plant may have lost its original qualities making it useful to the butterflies and other pollinators that depend on it. Try to find original or heirloom versions of the native plants.

Local or regional: Make sure your native plant choices are native to your area. While you may have learned that Monarch butterflies need milkweed, the different species of milkweed across the country, and even across coninents, have different chemical makeups, and might not be the proper plant to nourish the Monarchs passing through your area.

Native Plants and Butterflies in the News

Bumblebee on Coneflower. Photo from pixabay.com

Chabad in Suburban Chicago Plants Native Pollinator Garden

By Charlotte Adelman on Chabad.org
This article was published on May 10, 2017 on the Chabad.org website. The author is a native plant gardening expert. She stopped by the Chabad in Wilmette, IL to talk with the rabbi about protecting the environment as an act of tikkun, the Torah law that requiers Jews to repair the world, both physically and spiritually. The Chabad community embraced the idea of designing a butterfly garden on the new grounds of the Wilmette Chabad Center for Jewish Life and Learning. The organization decided to replace some of the lawn with native grasses, sedges and shrubs to provide critical habitat for butterflies and other pollinators. Read more about their project at the link above.
-Cory

How to Choose the Best Plants for Pollinator Gardens
By Janeen Wright on greenhousegrower.com
This article was published on May 9, 2017 on the Greenhouse Grower website.  The article looks at native plant gardening from the supply side. In the USA, people are becoming aware of the benefits of gardening for pollinators, and the demand for native plant material is growing. Native plants aren't easy to find, though.  In the article, one nursery owner in Illinois says,

“The demand for milkweed species and other native plants has skyrocketed, and many consumers are having a hard time finding a full selection of native species in garden centers,” says Grace Koehler, Sales Manager and Green Roof Professional at Pizzo Native Plant Nursery in Leland, IL. “Market demand is rising; the supply is stagnant.”

The author admits that growers still lack understanding of the native plant needs of bees and butterflies. While the consumers want to grow pollinator gardens, the nurseries aren't sure yet which plants are the right plants. The article also discusses the difference between natives and cultivars, but the conclusion of the article is that in order to meet the demand for native plants, the nursery industry is going to have to get educated and get then get stocked. 

-Cory