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JennyC
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Joined: Thu May 15, 2008 2:25 pm
Location: NW Georgia

I think it's very accessible now. Thanks!

EarthFirstNatives
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Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2008 1:28 pm
Location: Egg Harbor TWP, NJ

Hi all,

I am a newbie here - I actually joined because I wanted to respond to a thread about master gardeners, after creating the account, I went down the list and saw the native section. I stopped here since this is my passion.

I don't think I can advertise here, but I just wanted to let you know that I own a native plant nursery and you can feel free to add me to your list. I have read your concerns and frustrations about native plant nurseries and I have to say that you have a lot to be concerned about. Not only with wildflowers labeled natives, but with plants for sale that have been dug from the wild, sadly I have seen these, and it leads to further habitat destruction. I also saw the lists you have - very good start. A couple other lists are wildflower.org which is the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, and Plantnative.org, which contains a list of native plant nurseries and tells you what percentage of their plants are native.

I started this nursery native from the start, 4 years ago as a way to provide these plants to people in my area that are lost to our explosive overdevelopement. having worked several years in a nursery, I saw my share of newly arrived transplanted two-leggeds, coming in to buy exotic and even invasive species for their yards. I also saw lots of odd birds show up at my home that used to live in the woods where the houses now stand. Education folks in using natives instead, became a mission for me.

I Started selling at flea markets then on ebay, then this past year went ahead and made it a registered business. I also do talks on native plants to garden clubs, green groups, and at our Master Gardener plants sales workshops. I would be happy to share any knowledge I can helping you learn more about natives.

My nursery is 100% Native and listed on wildflower.org and plantnative.org. They are also organically grown without chemical pesticides and petro-fertilizers. One thing, however is I do not sell west of Texas. Most of my plants are beyond their natural range in the Midwest. Some of our plants here in the east are not welcome on the west coast as they can also be invasive and disturb ecosystems.

So if you have any questions about east coast/mid-atlantic natives, please feel free to ask.. and I am glad to see interest here in natives.

Now back to the master gardener thread..

Raven

TheLorax
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Hello and a very warm welcome to you Raven.

Nope, you can't promote yourself but it sure would be nice to have somebody like you sharing your knowledge and experiences in the threads whenever you've got time to spare. There seem to be a lot of questions about invasive species lately too and most native plant people are pretty up on those so I suspect you are too. There are other people who are in the nursery industry here so don't feel alone as MaineDesigner comes to mind for me and he's one of THG's best contributors in my opinion. I guess the only deal is no self promoting. You can contact the webmaster and ask him for details of what's approved and what isn't as I haven't a clue other than that self promotion is a no no. I just learned what a sock puppet was so I guess I'm behind the times.

The Lady Bird Johnson site is good. The problem I have with PlantNative.org is their nursery finder lists. They evidently did NOT appropriately screen the nurseries they allowed to be added to those lists. What value are their lists to gardeners who want to find nurseries such as yours when an organization like that slops you in with nurseries that are only carrying 5% native? Sort of defied logic to me given all the issues these days. And about the field collecting you mentioned. I spotted at least two nurseries on their lists that are field collecting. Harvesting from the wilds and slopping a plant into a pot to grow out for a little bit before offering it for sale as "nursery grown" doesn't cut it with me. Way uncool to take from the wilds. Way uncool for an organization like that to be listing nurseries that wild harvest.

Please Private message me the full name of your nursery along with all the contact information that I need to add your nursery as well as a link to your website or a list of the plants you offer and I'd be delighted to add you to that list I started.

EarthFirstNatives
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Posts: 15
Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2008 1:28 pm
Location: Egg Harbor TWP, NJ

hey and thanks for the welcome

As I said I used to sell on ebay and still do, (but not too much anymore) and of course checking through my listings saw other nurseries, some I could pretty much tell were wild collecting. One even bragged that they had been "digging wildflowers in the Tenessee Mountains for 25 years". Another was a "contruction site rescue" which at first I thought was noble, but now that "construction " has been going on for 4 years now, so I have my doubts, and they both have a thriving business on ebay selling natives, well dirt cheap, no pun intended. I try to keep mine affordable as well, but could never compete with them. And I don't' want to as I have better ethic than that.

With Plantnative.org you do need to look at the % listed, as you mentioned one with only 5%, I don't even think I would even bother looking as I may not find what I am looking for. Prairie Moon Nursey in Minnesota sell some plants, but mainly seed, I occasionally buy seed there in an emergency, like a storm knocking out my seed source. I use local seed as much as possible. But they are quite generous in the amount of seed you get for the money. Other good sources of native are local native plant societies or preserve ares' plant sales. Bowmans Hill is one I go to a couple times a year, where I can purchase propstock, knowing that they were also nursery propagted.

One thing in looking at nurseries, always look for ones they clearly state "nursery propgated" as like you said nursery grown can simply mean pulled from the wild and then grown in a pot. If possible ask to see the propagation area. Most legit nurseries will be happy to show you. If its mail order, ask to see pictures.

How do I send a Private message? I still havent learned my way around yet?

Thanks

Raven

TheLorax
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Hey Raven,

I'm not all that thrilled with PlantNative.org's list. I'm not alone and their hands off approach to the caliber of nurseries appearing in their line up has been a topic of discussion on the ListServe in the past. Quite frequently the percentage of native doesn't even appear and even some of the nurseries that list they have 50% or 75% native are stretching it when one takes a good look at their lists. It's the promoting of noxious weeds and invasive species by offering them for sale to the public at large as well as field collecting to increase the profits of the business that really burns me personally. Field collecting is simply wrong with very few exceptions regardless of whether a business or an individual is doing it. Just one can make a difference but then you know that already.

If you look at my post toward the bottom you will see a little button that says "P.Msg". Click on that and it will take you to the area where you can private message me.

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imagardener2
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Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2008 12:55 am
Location: Three Rivers, TX

Hey, Lorax, why didn't [url=https://www.naturalgardeneraustin.com/]The Natural Gardener[/url] in Austin make your new list?

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hendi_alex
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Location: Central Sand Hills South Carolina

I've ordered plants the past two years from John at Easy Wildflowers. Have been very satisfied. Also like the information that is available on his web site and like the fact that he sells both seeds and plants for most species. The first year that I purchased, when asked about payment, he said [don't worry about it, I'll send you the plants and you can send a check after you get them.] John has also been very cooperative/patient and helpful when I've called and picked his brain.

https://www.easywildflowers.com/index.html

Here is a list of state by state native plant societies.

https://www.michbotclub.org/links/native_plant_society.htm

TheLorax
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When I followed the link to their site, I found the following-
The Natural Gardener is a garden shop, nursery and teaching facility dedicated to promoting organic, time-tested gardening practices. We offer native and adapted plants and outstanding bulk and bagged soils.
And-
We in the nursery at the Natural Gardener work hard to provide a great selection of plants, both native and exotic, to delight the eye and please the palate.
They appear to be more of a garden center that carries some native plants. I contacted them and asked them to please forward to me a list of the plants they offered and no reply. Went back to their site and poked around a little bit and found they were advertising some invasive species and noxious weeds- "We carry both natives and those well-adapted to our soils and climate". Unfortunately, most noxious weeds and invasive species are all too well adapted to most soils and most climates which is why they are causes for concern. Although they are fair in that they are letting gardeners know they sell natives and non-natives, they don't appear to be differentiating between the two and best guess based on the plants photographed for their website and what they did list out as being for sale is that this nursery is probably selling less than 50% natives. Can't tell without a list from them.

Can add the EasyWildFlowers site though. They even provided a very basic list of invasive species which was nice as it exposes more gardeners to the concept of invasives.

Regarding the PlantNative.org site, I recently learned they charge nurseries for listing with them as a "native plant nursery" and there is no screening process whatsoever as they allow the nurseries advertising with them to provide percentages. Not at all impressed with that given I had already spotted a few nurseries in and amongst their ranks that were offering 5% native plants and also nurseries selling "Nursery Grown" which sends up big red flags for me. Why lump those nurseries in with the nurseries that aren't selling noxious weeds or invasives that are truly native plant nurseries offering close to 100% native plants such as Earth First Natives and others? Defies logic that a site such as GoNative.org would be promoting nurseries that aren't exactly native plant nurseries all based on which one pays their fees to advertise and which ones don't.

TheLorax
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Say hendi_alex,

I aleady have the site you suggested listed. It's under Missouri-
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8290

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hendi_alex
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Location: Central Sand Hills South Carolina

I saw the site mentioned in a prior post and in your list. Wanted to convey that I had a positive experience with them. Also included the link for state Native Plant Societies as the one for S.C. has been a useful resource.

Thanks for the good work!

Alex

TheLorax
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Ran into something today when trying to order some seed for myself personally. Went to an online nursery I used to buy from and found they had created a whole new area of their site where they were selling three pages of "World Wildflowers". This new area of this particular nursery's site was chalk full of noxious weeds and invasive species. So sad.

Should anyone run into one of the sites listed as selling NA native plants that has begun to pedal non-natives, please take a moment to share your findings here in this thread and I will remove them from the list of North American Native Plant Nurseries.

The Myosotis sylvatica (Forget-Me-Not), Myosotis sylvatica (Forget-Me-Not), Cynoglossum amabile (Chinese Forget-Me-Not), Ipomoea purpurea (Morning Glory), Cichorium intybus (Chicory), Chrysanthemum leucanthemum (Ox-Eye Daisy), Chrysanthemum maximum (Shasta Daisy), Cheiranthus cheiri (English Wallflower), Centaurea cyanus (Blue Bachelor's Button), Ammi majus (Queen Anne's Lace), Achillea filipendulina (Gold Yarrow), and Alcea rosea (Hollyhock) that the site I removed began selling will never be North American native plants no matter how many natural areas those species overtake.

TheLorax
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Ah, I see by the newly added signature line appearing under your user name that you must be a representative of Ashridge. Glad your nursery is responsibly providing the scientific names of plants.

Wish when you had originally posted what's quoted below with a new post subject of "Native plant nursery" that you would have disclosed you had an affiliation with that nursery so I didn't look like a cyber meanie with my comments-
Ashridge Trees specialises in native hedging and woodland trees if that helps.

nauticalady
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Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2010 12:21 pm
Location: Eugene, OR

I love this place:

https://www.doakcreeknursery.com/

Sasha
Cool Member
Posts: 80
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2010 10:17 am
Location: Edmonton, Canada

A couple other sources for Alberta:

Bedrock seeds: https://www.bedrockseedbank.com/

Not 100% native, but they're quite reputable.

https://www.wildaboutflowers.ca/index.php

100% native seeds and plugs.

The Alberta Native Plant Council has a list of native plant suppliers in the province. It can be found here: https://www.anpc.ab.ca/assets/source.pdf. They're pretty passionate about native plants (obviously) so I suspect they will have screened suppliers fairly well.



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