Our school PTO is buying seeds for around 100 teachers and staff for teacher appreciation week.
I am looking to select native seeds that are easy to grow, do not require cold stratification or other special treatments, and have the possibility of blooming the first year.
Some possibilities I am considering are Echinacea purpurea, Monarda fistulosa, Oenothera pilosella, Symphyotrichum laeve or Symphyotrichum oolentangiense.
Which one of these seeds do you think would work best? Are there others I should consider?
Update: thank you to everyone who chimed in. I am going with the Monarda because it is easy to grow, beautiful and great for the bees.
I was given some monarda (fistulosa, I think) that was yanked out as part of a landscaping bed cleaning job. It's pretty sparse or scattered. Very apart, if you know what I mean. But these mostly long stems mostly have both roots and leaves, but not much of either. So should I just plant these deep and hope roots sprout from the lower nodes? Should I just plant the roots and hope the upper nodes bush out and don't look ridiculous? Can I make each node start a new plant? What do yall know about these guy's preferences on asexual reproduction? I can't make too many, but would prefer them to look presentable. Thanks y'all!
Hi all,
I’m starting native seeds this year. These are things I have growing and collected seed from or otherwise gathered while out and about. I grow a lot of native flowers. Anyway, I am doing several methods - direct sow in the fall, milk jug stratification, refrigerator stratification and then refrigerator to direct sow. A few weeks ago I started the fridge seeds in seed trays and so far have germination on everything. I’m figuring I’ll move them up to 3” or 4” inch pots when they’re a bit bigger but I’m wondering how much I should thin seedlings out. Same goes for the milk jugs once they start sprouting which is most likely several weeks off.
And for the curious here’s what I’ve got. I’ve only started about a dozen varieties inside, the rest will or have been direct sown.
Meadow Blazing Star (Liatris ligulistylis) Great Blue Loeblia (Lobelia siphilitica) Obedient Plant (Physostegia virginiana) Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) Ironweed (Vernonia fasciculata) Gray-headed Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata) Lance-leaved Tickseed (Coreopsis lanceolata) White Turtlehead (Chelone obliqua) Pink Turtlehead (Chelone lyonii) Sky Blue Aster (Symphyotrichum oolentangiense) Royal Catchfly (Silene regia) Starry Campion (Silene stellata) Stiff Goldenrod (Solidago rigida) Zigzag Goldenrod (Solidago flexicauIolis) Bottle Gentian (Gentiana andrewsii) Cream Gentian (Gentiana flavida) Great Blue Loeblia (Lobelia siphilitica) Obedient Plant (Physostegia virginiana) Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) Ironweed (Vernonia fasciculata) Gray-headed Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata) Lance-leaved Tickseed (Coreopsis lanceolata) White Turtlehead (Chelone obliqua) Pink Turtlehead (Chelone lyonii) Sky Blue Aster (Symphyotrichum oolentangiense) Royal Catchfly (Silene regia) Starry Campion (Silene stellata) Stiff Goldenrod (Solidago rigida) Zigzag Goldenrod (Solidago flexicauIolis) Bottle Gentian (Gentiana andrewsii) Cream Gentian (Gentiana flavida) Red Beebalm (Monarda didyma) Beebalm (Monarda fistulosa) Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale) Hairy Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum verticillatum var.pilosum) Hairy Wood Mint (Blephilia hirsuta)
I thought I’d share my native seeds I’ll be sowing this winter:
- Wild Bergamot monarda fistulosa
- Bloodroot sanguinaria canadensis
- Virginia Bluebell mertensia virginica
- Northern Blue Flag iris versicolor
- Butterflyweed asclepias tuberosas
- Swamp Milkweed asclepias incarnatas
- Cardinal Flower lobelia cardinalis
- Great Blue Lobelia lobelia siphilitica
- Royal Catchfly silene regia
- Swamp Mallow hibiscus moscheutos
- Purple Coneflower echinacea purpurea
- Partridge Pea chamaecrista fasiculata
- Black-Eyed Susan rudbeckia fulgida
- Stemless Gentian gentiana acaulis
- Showy Goldenrod soldiago speciosa
- False Sunflower heliopsis helianthoides
- Liverwort hepatica nobilis
- Jack-in-the-pulpit arisaema triphyllum
- Jacob’s Ladder polemonium reptans
- Tiger Lily lilium michiganese
- Wood Lily lilium philadelphium
- Marsh Marigold caltha palustris
- Blue Phlox phlox divaricata
- Poppy Mallow callirhoe bushii
- Scarlet Sage salvia coccinea
- Shooting Star dodecathon maedia
- Trillium trillium grandiflorum
- Turtlehead chelone obliqua
Intro
I'm currently working on a project which will require a strong collection of wild/native/naturalized starts -- all part of a natural guild.
An experiment
I'm attempting to develop a guild using a collection of native edible/medicinal plants which I've been able to acquire through local foraging. This guild will be used in re-greening civic green spaces that have been half-ass implemented (see: cleared of trees, soil disturbed, left to desertify) in our semi-arid climate in the midst of massive suburban development. This guild will be edible, easily scalable, and will serve to re-green small pockets of abused "green space", as well as provide education opportunities for students (schools in the area) and local residents. I've been working on a proposal for the city, and have a good idea about what they're looking for.
The call to action
I wanted to share the list of plants I've been working on, and thought it might be interesting to see if anyone else wanted to create a list for their bio-region. This list is specific to zone 6a, semi-arid, clay soil, pine forest and grasslands.
Full disclosure: Permapeople is a personal (non-profit) project I've founded alongside a few other regenerative growers. I apologize if this post is against Rule #3.
The list:
- Chokecherry - Prunus virginiana - Shrub layer, large
- Mountain Ash - Sorbus americana - Canopy layer
- Nootka Rose - Rosa nutkana - Shrub layer, small
- Saskatoon berry - Amelanchier alnifolia - Shrub layer, large
- Yarrow - Achillea millefolium - Herbaceous layer
- Blue elderberry - Sambucus cerulea - Shrub layer, large
- American Mountain Gooseberry - Ribes oxyacanthoides - Shrub layer, small
- Bearberry/kinnickinnick - Arctostaphylos uva-ursi - Groundcover layer
- Wild bergamot - Monarda fistulosa - Herbaceous layer
Saw this post elsewhere and really want NZ to have a think. I have just purchased a has flame weed wand from Bunnings and am going to use this instead of weed killer, which is the number one culprit for insect decline. Link at bottom of post. Here is a really good comment from u/elenordash
If you have a yard, you can help insects and other pollinators.
The absolutely most important thing you can do is limit your use of weedkillers. Common Weed Killer Linked to Bees Death - Science Daily / Smart lawn care to protect pollinators - MSU Extension / A Home Gardener’s Guide To Safe, Bee-Friendly Pesticides.
The second important thing you can do is plant a range of flowers/bushes/trees native to your area and suited to your conditions. Native plants are made to support native pollinators. The Pollinator Partnership has planting guides for the US and Canada. (If your zip/postal code doesn't work, try a few nearby ones. Or download a few that sound like they might be right and check the map in the guide). The Pollinator Partnership website has been down for hours thanks to the Reddit death hug. I imagine it will be back up tomorrow. But if anyone is interested, you can donate to The Pollinator Partnership via Charity Navigator. Maybe help them out with their web hosting fees.
Let's say you are in Connecticut. All of these plants would work in your state, but what you should plant depends on your yard. Ideally, you'd have something blooming from March/April to September/October. Wild Columbine blooms from May-June, prefers shade and well drained soil. Summersweet blooms July-August, prefer full sun to partial shade and moist acidic soil. Spicebush blooms in March-April, prefers full sun to partial shade and moist, well-drained soil. [Fireworks Go
... keep reading on reddit ➡Hi, y'all. I live in Central-North NJ, and I've never really gardened before. Like, at all. Granted, I am studying ecology, so I luckily already have some general plant knowledge, but it doesn't carry over that much all things considered.
Recently though, I've become enamored with the idea of planting native perennials for pollinators, but I'm conflicted. For almost all of them, I've read that seed planting should happen mid/end of March, but it's already well into April. I'm not sure if I should be purchasing seeds and going through the normal steps (cold stratification), buy plugs, or go with other plants instead. There's a local nursery selling seeds, and several doing plant delivery at a high shipping cost. Currently, I have these plants on my list, for reference:
- Monarda fistulosa
- Monarda didyma
- Lobelia siphilitica
- Rudbeckia hirta
- Liatris spicata
- Echinacea purpurea (native-adjacent - my mom loves them though)
Any help would be appreciated!
The funeral director was asking us what we think Mum should wear in her casket.
Mum always loved to wear sarongs (fabric wraps that go around the torso and drape downward a bit like a long skirt would), so my uncle suggested that she wear a sarong in there.
The funeral director looked a bit confused, as did some of our family members, to which my uncle added:
"What's sarong with that?"
I started laughing like an idiot. He was proud of it too. The funeral director was rather shocked. We assured her, and our more proper relatives, that Mum would've absolutely loved the joke (which is very true).
His delivery was perfect. I'll never forget the risk he took. We sometimes recall the moment as a way help cushion the blows of the grieving process.
--Edit-- I appreciate the condolences. I'm doing well and the worst is behind me and my family. But thanks :)
--Edit-- Massive thanks for all the awards and kind words. And the puns! Love 'em.
I would have a daughter
But Bill kept the Windows
True story; it even happened last night. My 5-year-old son walks up behind me and out of the blue says, "hey."
I turn to him and say, "yeah, kiddo? What's up?"
He responds, "it's dead grass."
I'm really confused and trying to figure out what's wrong and what he wants from me. "What? There's dead grass? What's wrong with that?"
.
.
.
He says, totally straight-faced, "hay is dead grass," and runs off.
You officially hit rock bottom
And then you will all be sorry.
Now it’s syncing.
He replied, "Well, stop going to those places then!"
I will find you. You have my Word.
She said how do you know he was headed to work?
“thank you for your cervix.”
...sails are going through the roof.
Made me smile
Mods said I'm a cereal reposter...
A taxi
But now I stand corrected.
Intro
I'm currently working on a project which will require a strong collection of wild/native/naturalized starts -- all part of a natural guild. The list below has been compiled through my own observations in the wild margins around where I live - and based on the environmental constraints of the bio-region.
TL;DR
An experiment
I'm attempting to develop a guild using a collection of native edible/medicinal plants which I've been able to acquire through local foraging. There is a lot of opportunity around here to re-green abused spaces, and offer native plants to neighbours and as trades in the coming season.
The call to action
I wanted to share the list of plants I've been working on, and thought it might be interesting to see if anyone else wanted to create a list for their bio-region. This list is specific to zone 6a, semi-arid, clay soil, pine forest and grasslands.
The list:
-
Chokecherry - Prunus virginiana - Shrub layer, large
-
Mountain Ash - Sorbus americana - Canopy layer
-
Nootka Rose - Rosa nutkana - Shrub layer, small
-
Saskatoon berry - Amelanchier alnifolia - Shrub layer, large
-
Yarrow - Achillea millefolium - Herbaceous layer
-
Blue elderberry - Sambucus cerulea - Shrub layer, large
-
American Mountain Gooseberry - Ribes oxyacanthoides - Shrub layer, small
-
Bearberry/kinnickinnick - Arctostaphylos uva-ursi - Groundcover layer
-
Wild bergamot - Monarda fistulosa - Herbaceous layer
Next steps
I'm working on designing a drought-proof "native food forest" utilizing my selections and working with the local climate. These designs are part of a proposal for a small civic project for re-greening of abused/abandoned public green spaces.
Full disclosure: I wanted to take this opportunity to share some resources with the r/homesteading community (which I somehow just came across??) and introduce a project I've been working on. One of the main offerings is an open/crowd-sourced plant database. You can find it at (Permapeople.org)[https://permapeople.org].
--
Anyone else have any inter
... keep reading on reddit ➡