Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Share

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
3 ratings

Monday - January 21, 2008

From: Enterprise, OR
Region: Northwest
Topic: Seed and Plant Sources
Title: Native non-invasive plant seeds for Oregon wedding
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

I study invasive plants and I am interested in native plant re-vegetation. I am also planning a wedding in July. We thought a nice party favor would be wild flower seeds. I have people coming from all over the country, with the majority from the midwest and a good number from OR and CA. I want to give something that can be sown anywhere without fear of spreading non-native plants. Can you recommend a ubiquitous native plant, or at least one that could be sown anywhere without hurting the native plant community? I was thinking common yarrow, Carolina crane's bill, sleepy catch fly, Joe pye weed, pink milkweed, fireweed, red columbine... Any suggestions where to buy these seeds? Thanks! Sarah

ANSWER:

That is a lovely idea, nice for your guests and nice for the ecology. And since you are already working with invasives, you should be able to identify which seeds perhaps should not be presented to guests from certain parts of the country. In light of that, you might possibly want to have more than one packet or mix available for different parts of the country. So, for starts, let's look at your ideas for a more or less "universal" native wildflower.You can follow each of these links to get an information page on the respective plants.

Achillea millefolium (common yarrow) This found throughout most of temperate North America.

Geranium carolinianum (Carolina geranium) Again, grows just about everywhere in North America.

Silene antirrhina (sleepy catchfly) Shown on USDA distribution map as growing in all of North America.

Eupatorium purpureum (sweetscented joepyeweed) This is apparently found only in the North and Eastern part of North America.

Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed) The USDA distribution map shows this not appearing in the northwestern states, or Nevada, but does appear in California.

Chamerion angustifolium ssp. circumvagum (fireweed) THE USDA distribution map shows this plant distributed only in Washington State, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Minnesota, but does show up for all of Canada and Alaska.

Aquilegia canadensis (red columbine) Referring again to the USDA map, this plant only appears naturally from North Dakota south to Texas and to the East Coast.

You understand, I'm sure, that the fact that these plants don't show up in our Native Plants Database or in the USDA database as appearing in the states you are interested in doesn't mean they won't grow there. It just means those databases did not have that information. If you would like to widen your search, go to our Native Plant Database, down the page to the Combination Search. We tried this out using the choices of "All States", "herb" as the habit, "Annual" as the duration, and "6 hours or more of sun" a day for light. This gave us 150 possibilities. Depending on what states you expect guests from, you could do one state at a time, add in "perennial" on one choice, etc. The individual page on each plant in our database gives you the growing requirements of that plant, the states in which it is found, bloom time and bloom color.

Finally, go to our Native Plant Suppliers Directory and, again using the appropriate choices, find seed suppliers either near you or providing mail order services. You probably won't be able to find a pre-made mix of the exact plants you want, but since you can buy in bulk, you can break them down into custom mixes of your own for each guest.


Achillea millefolium

Geranium carolinianum

Silene antirrhina

Eupatorium purpureum

Asclepias incarnata

Chamerion angustifolium ssp. circumvagum

Aquilegia canadensis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More Seed and Plant Sources Questions

Where can I find a pignut hickory tree to plant in Scenery Hill, PA?
August 30, 2010 - Where can I buy Pignut Hickory tree, 10', B&B?
view the full question and answer

Growing non-native and exotic plants in New Oxford PA
October 24, 2010 - Is there a palm tree that would grow in New Oxford PA? Also do you know where I could find a place to buy Exotic and Unusual Plant Seeds from around the World. I would like one that has a good reputa...
view the full question and answer

Wildflower seed sources for Collinsia verna.
June 29, 2009 - Hello, I am looking for seeds of Collinsia verna to plant in my woodland wildflower garden. I live in NC, a bit out of the native range, so don't have immediate access to native seeds. Do you kno...
view the full question and answer

Source for seeds of New Mexico locust from Abilene TX
October 23, 2012 - Is there a place to buy Robinia neomexicana native to Texas or order seed from Texas grown plants?
view the full question and answer

Purchase source for Jamaica Sawgrass
November 09, 2008 - Any idea where to find this plant? Does the center sell them? Cladium mariscus ssp. jamaicense (Crantz) Kükenth. Jamaica swamp sawgrass, Jamaican Saw-grass, Saw-grass Cyperaceae (Sedge Family) ...
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.