Wildflower & Native Plant FAQ

What is a native plant, anyway?

A native plant is one that occurs naturally in a particular region, ecosystem, or habitat without direct or indirect human intervention. We consider the flora present at the time Europeans arrived in North America as the species native to the eastern United States. Native plants include all kinds of plants from mosses and ferns to wildflowers, shrubs, and trees.

Are native plants a better choice for your garden?

The answer lies, in part, in your own judgement. Native woodland wildflowers will never give your shady garden the riots of color that can be had with impatiens and caladiums, but if you like to garden with elegant and underused plants, they are great. If you want to create a garden that emulates nature, they are essential. As with any plant that you want to grow, however, the right plant must be matched with the right spot. There are a myriad of native plants that thrive in every type of habitat imaginable. It's your job to do some research to find the best species for your hot, dry slope, that wet swale in the back, or the dry shade under your oak tree.

Does digging wildflowers from the wild hurt the environment?

Absolutely! Removing wildflowers from the wild is harmful for three reasons. First, you diminish the natural population and consequently reduce the diversity within that population. With less diversity, a plant population may be less capable of responding to environmental changes; it may perish if suddenly stressed by disease, insects, or sudden extremes in weather. Second, nature is likely to fill the vacuum you create when you dig up a wildflower with a plant of a different species, often an invasive weed. Finally, wild collected plants often perform poorly in the garden. Plants propagated in a nursery or grown from wild collected seed or cuttings, are much more likely to survive transplanting.

Should I fertilize my wildflowers?

Many native plants are well adapted to soils with meager nutrients. Most native woodland perennials do well with the nutrients that are released slowly by the decomposition of leaves. Prairie plants may have a greater need for lime than for fertilizer in areas where the soil is naturally very acidic. We fertilize our plants very little, and rely on organic mulches such as shredded leaves to supply nutrients. When we do fertilize, organic sources of nutrients are applied in the fall every three years; a small amount of fertilizer is applied only to the plant species that require the extra nutrients.

What is the best mulch to use on my woodland wildflower garden?

Woodland wildflowers flourish when mulched with slightly decomposed leaves. Shred or compost leaves that do not break down quickly, such as those from oak and beech trees, before applying them to beds of wildflowers.

Where can I get native plants?

Buy plants from a reputable nursery or grow them from seed yourself. You may be surprised to learn that some wildflowers are still taken from the wild to be sold at commercial nurseries, particularly the slow growing trilliums, orchids, and lilies. This practice has a negative impact on biodiversity and often the plants don't survive. When buying native plants make sure that the nursery propagates what it sells or buys from wholesalers who propagate plants from nursery grown stock plants. Fortunately, conservation-minded native plant nurseries that specialize in propagating and selling native plants have sprung up all over the country; your local native plant society may be able to recommend one to you.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is a great resource for all kinds of native plant and wildflower information. The Center's web site at www.wildflower.org lists state wildflower and native plant societies.

Source:
United States National Arboretum

Related topics:
Preserving our native plants
Benefits of landscaping with native plants

Preserving Our Native Plants

Native plants are an integral part of all healthy ecosystems. Each species contributes to a balanced system developed over millions of years, and interacts to keep the ecosystem functioning. Shrubs produce berries; birds feed on the berries; seeds from the berries are deposited by the birds, thus dispersing the shrubs. Plants drop their leaves, providing organic matter for the earthworms to eat; the earthworms churn up and aerate the soil, which improves plant growth. The intricacy of ecosystems - each with an enormous diversity of plants, animals, insects, bacteria, soil, air, and water - boggles the mind. There is no way to know beforehand how the loss of even one species will affect an ecosystem, and subsequently the many other species, including humans, that rely upon that ecosystem.

Scientists believe that the current global rate of plant extinction is unprecedented. But these native plants are not just disappearing from the tropical rain forests. They are also disappearing from our own backyards. Since the 1800s, the United States has lost close to 200 plant species. Today, 5,000 plant species are considered vulnerable to extinction, and more than 600 are on the federal threatened and endangered species list. These plants are disappearing because we are destroying their habitats. To protect plants, we must protect their habitats. Concern over the plight of native plants has brought together a variety of people and groups dedicated to preserving native North American plants and their habitats.

What Can You Do To Help?

Learn more about native plants, get involved, and spread the word!

• Encourage conservation of native plant habitats in your local community.
  
  
• Volunteer in parks, national forests, and other public lands to help protect native plants and their habitats.
  
  
• Get involved with a native plant group, botanical garden, or garden club.
  
  
• Never collect native plants from the wild--they might be rare or endangered species! Order from reputable nurseries that propagate from nursery-grown material.
  
  
• Talk to your local garden stores and ask them to stock native trees, shrubs, annuals, and perennials.
  
  
• Get involved with a local school and share your knowledge and appreciation with tomorrow's leaders. Encourage schools to include plant conservation in their curricula.

Related topic: Benefits of Landscaping with Native Plants


Source:
U.S. National Park Service

Benefits of Landscaping with Native Plants

If you haven’t worked with native plants before, you may be wondering how natives are different than daylilies or hostas. The following information answers these questions and explains why using at least some natives in your garden can be beneficial to the environment.

What are native plants?

Native plants are the trees, shrubs, flowers, grasses, ferns and other plants that have evolved in a particular area over thousands of years. In the United States, “native” plants existed here before European settlement. Over this long period of time, the plants have adapted to the particular growing conditions present here, including temperature, rainfall, winds, soils, slopes and wildlife.

Without our native plants, we would lose many of the places that renew us emotionally and spiritually. We would also lose much of the natural beauty that defines our culture. Can you imagine a world without our native plants? A world without bluebonnets stretching across Texas or fields of California poppies? Without native plants, no maples or aspens would spread their colors across the mountainsides. No rambling wild roses would adorn the fencelines of the countryside. And no irises would grace the banks of our waters.

The animals we love to watch and photograph - birds, deer, bears - rely on native plants. Some, like the grizzly bear, face extinction themselves because of the loss of their native habitats and foods. Native plants benefit hunters and anglers by providing food and shelter to game animals, from ducks to fish to elk. Gardeners rely on native plants such as azaleas and rhododendrons, roses and orchids, and black-eyed susans.

Using native plants in your landscape will bring you many benefits, including the following:

• Native plants are beautiful, providing an entirely new palate of plants to a traditional landscape.
  
  
• They are well-adapted to local conditions, therefore requiring little maintenance once established. They eliminate or significantly reduce the need for fertilizers, pesticides, water and lawn maintenance equipment. They also often attract beneficial insects, which prey upon pests, decreasing the need for pesticides.
  
  
• Most native species are perennial, or self-seeding biennial plants.
  
  
• Native plants attract our native songbirds and butterflies. Just as the plants have evolved and adapted to your region over time, the local wildlife has evolved alongside them, depending on these plants for food and shelter.
  
  
• Using native plants promotes biodiversity. Planting a small meadow that once was lawn replaces one plant species with many, increasing the opportunities for beneficial wildlife and insects to live.
  
  
• Natives reduce air pollution, improve water quality and reduce soil erosion. Using native vegetation, unlike cultivated landscapes, does not require the use of lawn maintenance equipment, a major contributor to air pollution. They improve water quality by filtering contaminated stormwater, and reduce soil erosion by
  stabilizing soils with their deep root systems.
  
  
• Native plants are less expensive to maintain. Studies by the U.S. EPA show that a prairie or wetland costs approximately $150 a year per acre to maintain, while the same amount of lawn costs $1,000 per year per acre to maintain.

Sources:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. National Park Service